Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung@ 40 in Ghana Table 2: Women's Participation in Local Government Elections from1998-2006 Year Female Candidates Male Candidates Female Elected 1998 547 2002 965 2006 1,772 14,673 196 12,625 341 13,170 478 Source: Electoral Commission of Ghana(2006). Male Elected 4,158 4,241 4,244 Female Participation by Percentage 4.5 7.4 10.1 Male Participation by Percentage 95.5 92.6 89.9 With reference to appointments, a directive from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to the assemblies to implement quotas in the appointment of members is the clearest example in Ghana of using quotas to promote women's participation in public decision making. In 1998 the instruction was for a quota of 30% of appointed membership for women. Evidence however points to the inability of over 30% of assemblies to meet this quota. Such low patterns of representation of women is as a result of the lack of any concrete policy measures that would ensure that structural inequalities between women and men are considered in promoting participation in decisions. 4. 0 Impact of FES work on Gender Equality. The achievement of gender equality depends on the ability of critical actors to build upon the accountability of power holders to women so that power holders are answerable for meeting commitments to women's rights and gender equality. In Ghana several women's organisations, networks and coalitions have worked hard to expose gender–based injustices and to demand redress from powerful actors. This effort has largely been supported by development partners working in collaboration with civil society and state institutions. 29