The former Acting Secretary-General of the DTA says the party has a long way to go in achieving gender parity in its leadership structures. Elma Dienda told Nampa that she preferred to remain in parliament, but that she would contest for the Secretary-General position at the 2018 party congress. The official opposition party held its Central Committee meeting last month where it elected a new Secretary-General, a position in which Dienda acted since June 2015, but did not contest. Speculation about her lack of interest in challenging the leadership position in the party followed the election of Immanuel Ngaringombe as the party’s chief administrator. Dienda said a choice had to be made between contesting for the position or holding on to her seat in the National Assembly. She noted that a shortfall observed during the Central Committee meeting was the way in which women contested the deputising positions in the party’s leadership and not the senior positions, something Dienda is determined to challenge. Dienda stressed that she was guided by the DTA’s Constitution, which she would use as a guideline to strengthen other women in the party to contest leadership positions.