The Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Weija-Gbawe Constituency, Alberta Sunu, has declared her intention to contest the constituency chairperson position of the party.
She said her grassroots experience had positioned her to unite the party and win the parliamentary seat for the first time in 24 years.
Ms Sunu said the constituency had the potential to win the seat but needed effective leadership, unity and a coordinated grassroots mobilisation strategy.
She said her four-year experience as the constituency women’s organiser had enabled her to identify the challenges that had prevented the NDC from winning the parliamentary seat over the years.
Experience
“My experience being the women’s organiser in the last four years has given me exposure and experience. It has also made me identify why the NDC in this particular constituency has not gotten an MP for the past 24 years,” she said.
Ms Sunu said although she had a cordial relationship with the incumbent constituency chairman, she believed that leaders had different approaches to identifying and addressing problems.
She said her decision to contest was, therefore, not based on personal differences, but on her conviction that she could contribute to changing the fortunes of the party in the constituency.
The party has scheduled constituency executive elections for October 24 and 25, to be held at designated venues across the country.
Six men
Ms Sunu is one of seven people who have so far declared their intention to contest the constituency chairmanship, including the incumbent chairman and his predecessor.
She is the only woman among the seven aspirants.
Ms Sunu said she was not intimidated by the fact that she would be contesting six men, stressing that the individual contributions of the aspirants to the party would ultimately determine the choice of the delegates.
“I am actually very, very happy they are all men because the difference will show that it does not matter how many men you are contesting.
Our individual work and contributions to the party will speak,” she said.
Grassroots
Ms Sunu said during her tenure as women’s organiser, she did not restrict herself to the duties of her office, but supported other aspects of the party’s activities to help secure victory for the NDC.
She said she personally funded several campaign activities ahead of the 2024 general election, including printing posters and flyers and organising mobilisation activities.
She said she also organised women to campaign in all 14 electoral areas in the constituency, including communities and Zongo areas, where she conducted voter education for first-time voters.
“I did not limit myself to my office as a women’s organiser.
I did what the youth had to do, I did what the treasurer had to do, I did what the chairman had to do and I did what the organiser had to do,” she said.
Ms Sunu said the efforts helped reduce the NDC’s parliamentary deficit in the constituency during the 2024 election.
