OUT of the total number of 137 female candidates who contested for the district assembly elections in the Northern Region, only 19 of them were given the mandate to serve in their various assemblies.
The figure reflects a sharp reduction as compared to 38 females who were elected to the assemblies in the last elections in 2006.
There was also a decline in the voter turn-out of 53.1 per cent as against the 56 per cent figure achieved in 2006.
In the Tamale metropolis, for instance, only one woman was voted to the assembly, compared to the 64 elected men. In nine other districts of Bole, East Gonja, Kpandai, Nanumba South, Yendi and Saboba, no female was offered the mandate.
Chereponi, Savelugu/Nanton, East Maprusi and Bunkpurugu also recorded zero per cent for the female candidates.
The West Mamprusi District, however, recorded the highest elected females of five from the 43 electoral areas followed by West Gonja, Nanumba North, Gushiegu, Karaga and Tolon/Kumbungu districts which had two elected members each, respectively.
According to the Northern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Mr Sylvester Kanyi, all the 20 districts in the region recorded lower turn-out except the Nanumba North, South, Zabzugu/Tatale, Yendi and Saboba where figures were higher than those in 2006.
The figures for Kpandai and Chereponi for 2006 were not readily available.
While some people in the region have attributed the low turn-out to the inconsistencies in the designated dates for the elections by the EC, others blamed the situation on voter apathy and the unattractive nature of the district assembly concept.
They also claimed that the female candidates may have suffered from stereotyping and the lack of support and resources to compete effectively.
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