Managing Election- Relation Violence for Democratic Stability in Ghana expected to enhance internal democracy in the party. The disagreements resulted in violence and supporters of Dr. Asamoah were subjected to various forms of verbal abuse. However, of greater significance is the treatment meted out to Madam Frances Essiam, the then out-going Women's Organiser 139 of the NDC. A part from verbal abuse(directed at her and other members of the Obed Asamoah camp), she was also subjected to physical abuse as horsewhips were used to beat her (Modernghana, 2005). It is noteworthy that Asamoah and some of his other supporters were subjected to insults and heckled but Essiam was the only one beaten. The beating of Essiam was undoubtedly a manifestation of the consequence of gender and patriarchy. As a woman, Essiam's place was not within the public domain of a party congress and if she participated, there was a limit to which she could articulate her 140 opinions As mentioned earlier, the patriarchal nature of Ghanaian society dictated those eligible to participate in the democratic process, at what level and the extent to which they could participate. Thus, although she was the National Women's Organiser, her role was subject to the rules of the game that allowed her entry in the first place. By articulating her opposition to former President Rawlings and openly criticising him, she had crossed the lines. Comments made on the e-platform www.ghanaweb.com on the story of Madam 139 She resigned from the NDC in 2005 and helped found the Democratic Freedom Party(DFP) with Obed Asamoah, but left the DFP to join the NPP in 2008. She is the current parliamentary candidate for the Adentan constituency. 140 Until recently(the 2000s), most female members of the various political parties played off-the scene roles, away from the public domain. Although they were active in mobilizing support for their parties, they played low-key roles in the public activities of the party. Most of those who participated at the strategic decision-making level were the Women's Organisers and those who were deputies to substantive office holders. 293