Give Women The Nod At Vetting, WiLDAF Urges NDC

The Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), Ghana, has called on the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to adopt special criteria to ensure more women are given the nod during the vetting process to contest the parliamentary primaries.

Given that Ghana has not been able to meet the national and international targeted indicators set 15 years ago for women’s representation in political leadership, it will be appropriate for the NDC as the party in power to demonstrate commitment to women’s leadership by proactively and practically setting up special measures during the vetting of candidates that will see more women being approved to contest the parliamentary primaries on November 7, 2015, WiLDAF stated.

According to the WiLDAF, it acknowledges and appreciates the effort by the NDC, saying the ruling NDC government has already drafted an Affirmative Action Bill that will soon be presented to Parliament for consideration and passage.

Giving this commitment, it stated that the NDC must begin to build on other measures already in place such as reduction in filing fees by 50 per cent for women which aims at promoting and supporting women’s greater participation in political and public leadership.

This call by the WiLDAF, is to reiterate the NDC’s 2012 Better Ghana Agenda manifesto which promises that “In our first term, the NDC appointed the first female speaker of parliament and the first female Commissioner of CHRAJ, among others, consistent with our commitment to advance the status of women in leadership.

In the view of the WiLDAF, the next NDC government must continue to make progress on this commitment with the ultimate goal of attaining 40 per cent women’s representation in all public appointments and at the Party’s conferences and congresses.