A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has revealed that attempts by the then-candidate Akufo-Addo to choose a woman as his running mate was met with protests by powerful women's groups of the political party.
Weighing in on the debate that has greeted President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s recent comment that there has not been enough dynamism in the gender parity agenda of the country, Mr Otchere-Darko said two groups; the women caucus of the NPP in Parliament, women organizers of the party lobbied against the choice of Hajia Alima Mahama as running-mate in 2008.
The Executive Director of the Danquah Institute recalled a 'disheartening and scary" moment where two buses filled with NPP Women Organisers from across the country parked in front of the candidate’s house in East Legon to lobby him against the choice of the woman.
Mr Otchere-Darko's Facebook post reads: A little uncomfortable history to chew on. Me and my big mouth.
When in early 2008, the presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, hinted to the powers within his party that his first choice for running mate was the Minister for Women, Hajia Alima Mahama, the biggest organised opposition came from women, principally, two powerful women groups: (1) the women caucus in Parliament (2) women organizers of the party.
In fact we woke up one morning with two big buses load of Women Organisers across the country parked in front of the candidate’s house in East Legon to lobby him against the choice of the woman. Frankly, it was disheartening and scary. Extremely.
In 2014/15, the same presidential candidate put on the party’s agenda how to aggressively ensure that women are selected for winnable seats. But, other pressing intra-party issues at the time derailed that important move. I hope the party will put it back on the table.
Background
Contributing to a panel discussion on the topic: “Power, Progress, Change”, at the Women Deliver 2019 in Vancouver, Canada, last Monday, Akufo-Addo said, despite the majority being women in Ghana, not much political action had been witnessed in their push for greater inclusion in Ghana’s political administration.
“Fifty-two per cent of the population are women,” he said, adding that “these statistics should count, but that will only happen when women sit round the table where the decisions are made.
“If women don’t, for instance, put themselves up to be elected as candidates, then it is difficult to have a majority of them as ministers because at least half of my ministers, per the Constitution, must come from the legislature”.
Source: Daily Graphic
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
Do you know what pertains in the NPP? If what Gabby says is true and that the women caucus in the party rejected the idea, then with what support and basis could Nana convince the other party groups if the inner-most group she belonged rejected the offer. The NPP is not like the NDC in which JJ could do whatsoever he wanted. Also, who told you a Vice President who worked so hard for a party to come to power can be changed easily?
I am strongly against reserving seats for women because they are women. We should allow women to also contest seats of their choice with men. It is time women also go to the grass-roots to campaign for their political parties as men do. Women should also sponsor political parties financially as men do and should not wait for men to sponsor the parties and expect to be appointed as ministers of state at the expense of the men who did the job for the political parties to come to power. Do not treat women as second class people, they should do what it takes to become what they want to become.
This is the most ridiculous defense anyone has put forward for nana addo. That women rejected what? If nana addo was a decisive leader, wouldn't he had been able to convince those who opposed. In any case, who were those women who opposed him. Don't they have names? Well, since he wanted a women and was rejected, nothing has changed, he can still changed barwumia in the next election for a woman.
Why people saying what Mr okyerev said is not a factual statement? Any counter argument is welcome to make the discourse sound but not to cast doubt
My Question is, can she mange the economics of the country? This Gender equality thing, we are not close to that. What we have to do now is who can fix the mess. Not until we stabilize the economic growth and development of the country no one should entertain such discussions. They just create chaos. We are far behind and we need not to waste time on gender equalization. What we must concentrate now is who can fix the problem regardless of your gender. What credentials does this woman have to make her a good candidate to manage the economy? NPP Ladies reasoned well on that point, because not that they decided on her gender but her capabilities to help solve the economic mess.
unnecessary intervention...also trying to cause disaffection in the party simply because a wrong statement has to be turned into a right one by force.
THESE ARE JUST BIG LIES. WHO CAN CONTROL NANA ADDO IN THE NPP PARTY? YOU PEOPLE ARE JUST JOKERS. WHEN EVERYONE WITHIN THE NPP ARE LIKE SHEEP BEFORE ONE WOLF. PLEASE LEVE ME AND MY EARS ALONE. APUUUTOOO!
NANA FOREVERRR,, NO SCON
Lies as usual. Spin doctors doing damage control. If Nana believed in his choice of a woman as running-mate, he could have convinced the “big guys/girls” in the party to buy into his choice. Hmmmmmmm