Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) national women leader Stella Effah-Attoe says 250 female aspirants purchased the party’s Expression of Interest forms for the 2023 general elections.

Ms Effah-Attoe disclosed this on Monday at a meeting she held with some aspirants at the party’s Wadata Plaza national headquarters.

She urged the women to aim at winning elections and not stop at merely participating in the exercise. The PDP women leader added that her office was already working with party leaders and stakeholders to ensure that a good number of the female aspirants emerged as the party’s candidates.

Ms Effah-Attoe advised the aspirants to be well-prepared to face the primary elections so as not to blame the party later.

“Some of us don’t even relate with our wards, not to talk about our local government chapters, and when the bell rings to buy the forms, we just run and pick the forms,” the PDP chieftain pointed out. “Politics is not practised that way; you have to prepare yourself, especially for the primary.”

The national women leader said the meeting was to strategise how more women would merge as candidates at the primary elections.

“I desire to leave no stone unturned to ensure that our women participate meaningfully and win elections. We have always thought about women coming out to participate,” she further explained. “We have been doing that over the years we have been participating, but the issue now is coming out to win elections. This kind of meeting is unprecedented.”

Ms Effah-Attoe also said the meeting was designed to enhance female aspirants’ approaches and methodologies as they go to the field.

PDP former national women leader and ex-women affairs minister, Josephine Anenih, advised the aspirants to do soul-searching on whether they wanted to contest to win or just participate in the 2023 elections.

She noted that sometimes because the form was almost free, women just obtained it to bargain for something or earn the title of the aspirant and not to win elections.

(NAN)