Christian mothers upgrade on knowledge of electoral processes in Ghana

The Christian Mother’s Association, in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, has trained some of its members in the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese on the electoral processes in Ghana.

The Christian mothers, drawn from 20 Parishes of the Diocese, were taken through an overview of the electoral processes and the legal framework, election management bodies and election administration, political participation, voter registration, gender, conflict prevention, and management, among other areas.

This is to provide them with skills to examine the effects conflict had on citizen participation in elections and how they could help prevent or manage those conflicts before, during, and after elections.

It also aimed at giving them a fair understanding of the various types of elections in Ghana and the electoral systems that determine who becomes President, a Member of Parliament, or an Assembly Member to enable them to participate.

The training was on the theme: “Women in Politics and Leadership,” which formed part of the Association’s Women in Democratic Governance project, being implemented across the country with funding support from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Germany.

Mother Monica Tibil Yenpoka, the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocesan President of the Christian Mother’s Association, said women played a pivotal role in society and given the training, it would position them to take up leadership positions and influence decision-making.

The Association, she emphasized, was willing to support its members aspiring for political positions regardless of the political party to which they belonged and urged the women to work towards realising their dreams.

Mrs Olivia Ansu Amposah, the Executive Secretary of the Christian Mother’s Association, noted that peace was a major determinant of the success of every election, and the mothers, having been educated, would act as peace ambassadors before, during, and after the 2024 general election.

“Mothers have a lot of influence, and so in every election year, we train them to be peace ambassadors, not only that but to also understand the electoral processes so that they can either become election observers or participate in getting themselves elected and be involved in decisionmaking,” she added.

Mother Noella Kagyapwah, a participant and secretary of the Our Lady, Queen of Africa Parish, Bolgatanga, said women were politically vulnerable, but with the right education, they would be energized to let their voices be heard by speaking the truth while advocating peace.

Mother Adams Talbatu Thelma, a participant, while expressing her gratitude to Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, said the training was an eye-opener as it had helped her to know how she could actively participate in politics and manage conflict in elections.

Mr Mawuli Agbenu, the Upper East Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, and facilitator of the training, said though elections were supposed to be peaceful mechanisms for choosing leaders, they could sometimes result in conflict.

Therefore exposing women to electoral processes and conflict management was key to maintaining peace, he said. “The more knowledge the people have about the rules of the election, the better they can participate without causing violence,” he added.

Source: GNA