The National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) in collaboration with the Federation of Canadian municipalities (FCM) have organized series of trainings for over 300 female aspirants who will be contesting this year’s District level elections on December 19, 2023. As the day gets closer it has become imperative to equip more women with the necessary tools and strategies to win more seats at the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana.
The current data clearly shows that there are just a handful of female elected assembly members which needs urgent attention. Ghana has 9,112 assembly members, of which 8,275 - representing 91 percent - are men and 837- representing 9 percent - are women. Out of the 837 women assembly members in the country only 246 are elected members and the remainder (591) are government appointees. In that same election, 6,033 men were voted in, and the government appointed 2,242 more to shore up the number of assembly members.
But through the audacious project Partnership for Municipal Innovation- Women in Local Leadership, PMI-WILL the two associations are set to change the narrative.
From the 16 administrative regions of Ghana over 300 women - both incumbent Assembly members and aspirants, including person with disabilities - were selected to benefit from training that will position them to win more seats thereby increasing the number of female assembly members across the country. The women were equipped with strategies to employ before, during and after the elections. Emphasis was placed on the need to assemble a campaign team, develop a campaign strategy, create a budget, engage in voter outreach, create effective campaign messaging, and build networks and endorsements within the community.
The participants were also given some tips and strategies for a successful media campaign. Emphasis was placed on how to design their posters and use them to solicit funds on various Social Media platforms.
The future local government women leaders shared their excitement and appreciation to both NALAG and FCM for the life changing capacity building.
You can learn more about the training on the project Facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093313801904