A former Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and former Member of Parliament for Jomoro Constituency in the Western Region, Samia Yaba Nkrumah, has called for a comprehensive reform of Ghana’s electoral system.
Ms. Yaba Nkrumah, in her argument, strongly asserted the need for marginalized groups, particularly women, and smaller political parties to have a more significant voice in governance, and thus urged the country to explore the adoption of either the quota system or proportional representation.
Ms. Samia Yaba Nkrumah, the daughter of Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, further stressed that the current electoral framework, primarily the first-past-the-post voting structure or the simple majority system, has limitations that hinder the participation of those who may have lost in elections.
“In the current electoral system, when you lose by even one vote, you have still not won and your views and ideas are pushed aside.
“So, I think it’s about time in our country to consider reforming our electoral system that might allow for the inclusion of those constituencies which are underrepresented like introducing the quota system or proportional representation. The time has come for that to be discussed”.
Samia Yaba Nkrumah
The quota system, according to Madam Nkrumah, would introduce affirmative action to ensure that specific segments of the population, such as women, are adequately represented in Parliament and at the local level as well.
Furthermore, the former Member of Parliament for Jomoro Constituency in the Western Region noted that the proportional representation model would allocate parliamentary seats to political parties based on their performance in the elections, thereby allowing smaller parties to gain representation and contribute to strengthening the country’s democracy.
According to Ms. Yaba Nkrumah, smaller parties would benefit from the introduction of proportional representation into Ghana’s electoral system, which would also go a long way to foster a more diverse and inclusive political system in the country.
She also stated that if Ghana were to adopt the quota system, more women may be elected into Parliament than it is now, emphasizing the potential impact of such a reform on gender representation in the country’s political sphere.
Samia Nkrumah Reflects On Her Political Journey
Moreover, the former Chairperson of the Conventions Peoples’ Party reflecting on her 2008 victory in the Jomoro Constituency parliamentary election, stated that having spent a considerable time outside Ghana, she recalled being caught up in the campaign, focusing on spreading the message without dwelling on the prospect of winning or losing the election.
Ms. Samia Yaba Nkrumah expressed her excitement over her decision to contest for the position of Member of Parliament in Jomoro Constituency in the 2008, and stated how she hoped her win would have change the fortunes of the Convention Peoples’ Party in Ghana’s electoral politics.
According to her, she was more concerned at the time about changing the narratives of the country’s politics rather than winning her parliamentary elections.
“The thing that made me happiest of all is that I feel that would be the beginning of reviving the political party, reviving Kwame Nkrumah’s ideas, just beginning a conversation on Kwame Nkrumah and his policies. That really was topmost in my mind”.
Samia Yaba Nkrumah
Ms. Samia Yaba Nkrumah, the daughter of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah after serving one term in Parliament from 2008 to 2012 was elected as the Chairperson of the Convention Peoples’ Party but, she later stepped down to contest the party’s flagbearership which she lost to Dr Michael Abu Sakara Foster.
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