NPP urged to select women parliamentary candidates

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday May 14, 2008
A New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary aspirant for the Tema West seat has urged the leadership of the party to fulfill their promise of supporting more women to go to Parliament.

Irene Naa Torshie Addo 38, the Deputy Head of Mission at the Ghana Embassy in the United States of America who is contesting for the seat says the NPP executives need to do more to encourage women to contest for the various seats.

In an interview with the Times in Accra on Tuesday Mrs Addo complained that male dominance on the political landscape of the country is inhibiting the effort of women to be actively involved in the political process.

“The party leadership sometime ago said they were putting in place a strategy to get more women Parliamentarians but it appear to me that this promise has not been fulfilled.”

She said for instance that since she declared her intention to contest the Tema West Seat there have been efforts by people including some National Executives of the Party to undermine her candidacy.

She further said she filed her nomination to contest and was subsequently vetted but up till now she had not heard anything from the regional executives of the party even though the date for primary is near.

Mrs Addo said a member of the national executives later told her he had received a text massage from a Party member in the United States over an allegation of misconduct on her part adding “I wonder why the petitioner was not invited to meet me face to face at the vetting as the party rules state.”

She said she then wrote to the US Ambassador in Ghana to set the records straight and the Ambassador on May 7, replied that “based upon a search, I confirm that the US Embassy has no records of your having broken any laws in the United States and there is no indication that you are under investigation of any kind, or are you subject to any legal action.”

She said she does not understand why the party’s regional executives cannot fix a date for the Tema West primary to be held adding “all I hear is that it will be done soon. I am put
In a suspense and cannot strategise properly for the event”.

“I cannot be intimidated and I will not be bullied out of a right that is solely mine. I will contest, win the primary and capture Tema West for the NPP”.

Asked whether the presence of her main challenger, Abraham Osei-Addo, the incumbent MP and Majority Leader in Parliament does not put fear in her, Mrs Addo said “I am constantly on the ground. I am in touch with the delegates who will be voting and I know I am the preferred to any other contestant”.

“I come on board with a rich legal experience and I will bring it to bear when I get the nod”.

She promised to priorities the welfare and rights of women and children and also help in the promotion of education in the constituency.

Mrs Addo said she had led a lot of women to secure loans for businesses in the Tema Metropolis saying “I know that when women are economically empowered, the men are able to have their peace of mind to work”