Meet Five Notable Women Going Into The 9th Parliament Come January 7, 2024

With the 9th parliament set to have one more woman than the 8th parliament, YEN.com.gh has shone a light on five women worth looking out for in the next parliament

So far, 41 women have been declared parliamentarians nationwide. This is a minute increase from the 8th Parliament’s women’s population, which stood at 40 out of 275 parliamentarians.

The figure may change following the Electoral Commission’s (EC) declaration that some collated parliamentary results are invalid.

YEN.com.gh has put together five notable female parliamentarians to watch out for in the 9th Parliament of Ghana.

Ebi Bright

Ebi Bright, a former actress and two-time National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Tema Central constituency, was third time lucky in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

Her victory was not without drama, as EC officials had to delay the announcement of the results due to security challenges at the collation centre, causing the collation to be relocated to the Tema Regional Command.

Read also

EC flags Dome Kwabenya, Okaikwei Central, other parliamentary declarations, says they are illegal

On December 9, 2024, the EC officials finally declared Ebi as the winner of the Tema Central parliamentary race after supporters amassed at the Tema Regional Command and placed the EC officials under much duress.

However, her fate hangs in the balance as the Electoral Commission has declared the collation and subsequent declaration null and void.

Phyllis Naa Koryoo Okunnor

Phyllis Naa Koryoo Okunnor, the NDC parliamentary candidate for Awutu Senya East, will debut in parliament on January 7, 2025, after ousting Hawa Koomson, who has been MP for the area since 2012.

Phyllis’s journey to victory was not a fairytale. She had to manage real threats to her life, particularly in the just-ended elections.

During the collation process, Okunnor was shot at by unidentified armed men, claiming the life of one of her aides and injuring many others.

The police later made four arrests connected to the incident and retrieved one AK47 rifle with 69 rounds of ammunition.

Read also

NDC wins Ablekuma North, tension rises as EC officials declare results

Elikplim Akurugu

Faustina Elikplim Akurugu’s victory in the 2024 parliamentary elections in Dome Kwabenya stunned NPP supporters. Since its creation in 2004, Dome Kwabenya has been a stronghold of the NPP.

Nigel Gaisie prophesied the NDC MP’s victory in the area.

However, Elikplim’s joy was cut short after the EC declared the collation results of her constituency null and void.

The EC argued that the EC officials had been forced to make the pronunciation she had won without following due process.

Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui

The NDC parliamentary candidate for Awutu Senya West, Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui, broke the one-term jinx in her constituency when re-elected to represent it in the 9th parliament.

This was the first time a parliamentary candidate in Awutu Senya West had been given more than one term in parliament.

Joana Cudjoe

Joana Cudjoe faced a lot of hurdles to becoming MP of Amenfi Central on the NDC ticket.

Read also

Electoral Commission directs suspension of collation for 9 outstanding constituencies

Joana was disqualified from participating in the 2024 parliamentary elections two months before the parliamentary elections after an injunction was filed against her at the Sekondu High Court.

The EC noted that due to the injunction, it could not recognise Joana as a parliamentary candidate.

The court in Sekondi later rescinded the injunction.

Joana is the wife of Ghana musician Keche Andrew and a small-scale mining business.

Source: YEN.com.gh