Cape Coast, Oct.13, GNA - Fifty-four women in the Central Region were elected to 12 out of the 13 Municipal and District Assemblies in the region during the September 26 District Level Elections compared to 40 in 2002.

Cape Coast Municipal Assembly is the only assembly without a woman among its 42 members.

Mfantsiman District has the highest number of eight women in the 48-member assembly, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) assembly has six and Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese has five.

Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, Gomoa and Assin North District Assemblies have five women each elected, Assin South and Twifo-Hemang-Lower-Denkyira District Assemblies have four each, Agona District Assembly has three, and Awutu-Efutu-Senya and Upper Denkyira District Assemblies have two each.

Mr Samuel Tettey, Central Regional Director of Electoral Commission, who disclosed this to the GNA at Cape Coast on Thursday, said a total of 498 candidates including 54 women were elected. He said the voter turn out for the region was 38.7 per cent, a slight increase from that of 2002, which was 35.14 per cent adding that of the

855,408 registered voters, only 331,193 cast their votes. Mr Tettey said Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa had the highest voter turn out of 54.2 per cent, with Cape Coast municipality recording the lowest of 32.1 per cent.

He was optimistic that with the requisite education and sensitization there would be an increase in voter turn out in future.