Lack of confidence and information on Ghana’s electoral process have been identified as major barriers to the participation of women and persons with disabilities in politics.

This came to light in a survey conducted by SAVE-Ghana in partnership with STAR-Ghana, both non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the Wa East Constituency of the Upper West Region.

The project dubbed “credibility watch” is aimed at promoting participation of the youth, women and persons with disabilities in partisan politics and local governance.

Mr. Kingsley Kanton, Executive Director of SAVE-Ghana, said the survey which comprised 50 per cent each of men and women revealed less participation of women in party politics such as attending rallies, listening to political debates on radio as well as participating in registration and voting as compared to men in the district.

This, Mr. Kanton attributed to lack of confidence in the electoral process as revealed by the survey and called for more education to increase the participation of women and persons with disabilities in future elections.

He called for effective cooperation between political parties, the Electoral Commission (EC), the security agencies, NGOs and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election in December.**