By Nasratu Kargbo
President of 50/50 Group Dr. Fredline M’Cormack-Hale says the only way the country can have 30% women in elective positions is for them to be placed at the top of the nomination list of political parties.
Speaking to Politico, she called on the Election Management Bodies (EMB) to ensure that women benefit from such an opportunity.
“The only way we can have more women and get 30% that we are calling for is for women to be higher on the list, and we are asking that women be placed first in the list. Especially where you have few seats like four, three seats, the fewer the number of seats in the district; the more important it is that we make sure that women are on top of the list”, she said.
She said in cases where there are four allocated seats, and a woman is placed third on the list, the district will end up with one woman, but if a woman is placed first, the district will end up having two women. She explained that this is so because the Public Elections Act (PEA) 2022 states that in every three nominations, one should be a woman.
Dr.M’Cormack-Hale stated that if women are second on the list in areas where there are more seats, women being in higher positions can place them at an advantage.
“For five seats, you can put her in the first or second positions and you can still get at least two women. So in a district where you have four seats and you put a woman in the third position, definitely you will only have one woman out of the four”, she pointed out.
Speaking on women’s status in politics, she said women are far behind, highlighting that the country has a total of 12% women in politics. She noted that the statistics have not changed since the last election.
She mentioned the Public Elections Act (PEA), the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act, and the Political Parties Act which focus on giving space to women and adhering to laws on women.
Dr. M’Cormack-Hale called on political parties to place women in decision-making positions, and mentioned how at least two parties have conducted conventions but was yet to see women in leadership posts in those parties.
Section 58(2) of the Public Elections Act (PEA) states that “For every 3 candidates nominated under subsection (1), one of them shall be female”.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (10/3/23)
