Ghana: “Some money has to be going. ..”: ¹ Discounted filing fees to bring more women into Parliament in Ghana

In 1992, Ghana returned to democratic rule after years of military rule, choosing the plurality single-member-district electoral system as the means by which candidates would be selected for parliament. With only 13.1 percent of its members of parliament being women since 2016, the country ranks among the lowest in Africa and the world in terms of women’s representation in parliament. The two main political parties, in response to these low numbers as well as women’s movement mobilization and the dissemination of international norms around women in politics and decision-making, adopted discounted filing fees for women aspirants in party primaries for the 2012 and 2016 elections. This chapter explores the impact of the discounted filing fees on promoting more women into the political recruitment process in Ghana. In brief, the chapter finds that while the discounted filing fees may have signaled a commitment by party leaders to more women candidates, for women to become candidates in the general election, they must first win primary elections, and success at that level requires far more resources than a discounted filing fee provides. In addition, other factors continue to work against the recruitment of more successful women candidates for parliament in Ghana.