“This paper attempts to analyse the social structure of the District Assemblies created by the District Assembly Elections of 2002. The Upper East Region of Ghana, which is the poorest region in the country, is the focus of the study. The analysis is situated against the background of the social, economic and political conditions of the region at the time of the District Assembly Elections of 2002. It was discovered in the study that some 61% of the 270 people who were elected to the District Assemblies were mainly teachers and farmers, and that out of thirty- five women candidates only seventeen, or 48.55% were successful. In addition, only one out of ten disabled candidates was able to make it to the Assembly. The Assemblies created by the Election of 2002, therefore, are predominantly constituted by able-bodied male teachers and farmers. Both society and Government have a major responsibility to ensure that more women get elected in future elections, to ensure their full and free participation in Ghana’s democratic political system.”
