Ghana's first female vice-presidential candidate, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman has emerged, ahead of the country's December 7, 2020 presidential elections.
West Africa’s second-largest economy has one of the highest levels of women-owned businesses in the world, yet just 13 per cent of parliamentary seats are held by women.
A former education minister, Opoku-Agyeman hopes that the decision of Ghana’s main opposition, National Democratic Congress (NDC) to nominate her as its candidate for vice-president will inspire other women to enter politics.
“Many are those who are now more energised to vote, thanks to the momentous decision,” Opoku-Agyeman, 69, said on the campaign trail in July after her nomination, promising to hold the door open for other women.
She and the NDC’s presidential candidate John Mahama, a former president of Ghana, are running against the incumbent, President Nana Akufo-Addo, and Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, a former banker, of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Some commentators saw her nomination as a politically astute move by the NDC to gain an edge in the race, a view boosted by a poll conducted in October by Ghanaian market research firm MSI-ACI showing over 70 per cent of the people approved of her candidacy.
“It’s a win, regardless of whether she wins,” said 35-year-old tech entrepreneur Kafui Anson-Yevu. She and her friends in Accra hope the nomination is just a starting point for women entering national politics.
(Source: Reuters)
