TANZANIA Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) has challenged leaders of political parties to improve internal systems to promote increased participation of women in the upcoming elections.

Rogathie Loakazi, Programme Officer; Policy Advocacy and Movement Building at TGNP threw the challenge in Dar es Salaam yesterday in a meeting that brought together political party representatives at district and ward levels in Dar es Salaam.

 She said that political parties as a gateway to becoming leaders have a big role in ensuring there is a conducive environment that enables women to participate in elections not only as voters but also as candidates.

The officer said that currently, there is a big gap between women and men contesting in election races, adding that more efforts are needed to bring transformation.

She said that in the Parliament seat, it was only 37 percent while in the local government seats the number does not exceed 3 percent.

“We need to see political parties take more initiatives ahead of polls by creating an environment that can be friendlier to women to contest,” she said.

Loakazi said that Tanzania ratified international conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), therefore, political parties need to work hard to end discrimination in all stages of the election process.

She said that political parties should consider gender equality and economic empowerment for women to compete against men.

Furthermore, political parties must show their readiness to fight against fraud and corruption, calling for more women to contest in the coming local government elections.

ACT-Wazalendo Party Leader Dorothy Semu promised to bring transformation in the outfit to move away patriarchal system by ensuring it comes up with the best gender policy.

Semu said that women have what it takes to be leaders but must take action to compete against men to attain the 50-50 ratio, adding that in the coming local government election, there will be over 180 posts up for grabs.

According to her, women contesting in and outside their political parties must be given a chance to realize the 50-50 proportion.

TGNP Executive Director Lilian Liundi said that women's participation was a development issue, adding that without involving them, it will not be easy to realize development goals.

She cited the 2022 Population and Housing Census (PHC) statistics which show that the number of women is more than 61 percent, necessitating the importance of investing in women.

“Women's involvement in politics and other developmental issues is significant and there is no way to escape it,” she said.