Oda, May 8, GNA - Birim Central Municipal Assembly has rejected the only female nominee among the 21 persons nominated by the President to be considered for Municipal and District Chief Executives in the Eastern Region at an emergency meeting of the assembly held on Thursday. The nominee, Ms Ophelia Koomson, a 59 year old graduate teacher polled 22 out of the 46 ballots cast, representing 46.8 per cent to become the only nominee rejected outright in the Region. All the 20 male nominees of the Region had been confirmed by the various District and Municipal Assemblies, but Ms Koomson, the only female whose confirmation was the last out of the 21 Presidential nominees was rejected by the assembly. Ms Koomson's nomination was greeted with a lot of controversies and objections from sections of the NDC leadership in the constituency and the traditional council to the effect that she was a stranger in the municipality.

Nana Owusu Gyamadu, the Council of State member, who was invited by Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the Eastern Regional Minister to address the assembly members before the voting, urged them not to allow the issue that the nominee was a stranger to influence their judgement. He said the issue of ethnicity and discrimination that is eating into the moral fibre of the society was doing more harm than good to the country, and called on them to vote massively for the nominee to change that perception.

The Member of Parliament for the area, Mr Yaw Boateng, said although the assembly was not to be operated on partisan lines, there were indications that members were being influenced on political lines. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said the nomination of the woman was based on her competency in assembly work, as well as other positions she had held within the assembly and not because of her feminism. He explained that although the president had intended to give 40 percent of all appointments to women, Ms Koomson's nomination was based on competency and her good performance at the interview. 8 May 2009