WORD OF THE WEEK- Franchise

Our word of the week is Franchise. It is pronounced fran+chaiz. It is a noun and a verb. One of its meanings is ‘the right to vote to select a political leader’.

I am sure you’ve heard the word a lot of times as we draw close to elections in Ghana. Let us see where the word comes from. It originates from the word ‘fraunchise’ which emerged in the 1300s.This word stood for “a special right or privilege (by grant of a sovereign or government) or the collective rights claimed by a people or town or religious institution’.

In the sentences below note how the word is used in a sentence.

1. African Americans were denied the right to exercise their franchise for a long time.

2. We must all exercise our franchise today to choose the right president to lead the country

3. The franchise for the elections is limited to Ghanaian nationals.

I hope you are paying attention to the news and educating yourself on the political happenings in the country. Most importantly, I hope you are still learning and improving your vocabulary. I want you to leave a word used in politics that you have heard in the comments. Kindly add the meaning too. I will be waiting!

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Article by Kofi Konadu Berko.

Kofi Konadu Berko is passionate about education and youth development. He holds a B.A in Adult Education and Human Resource Studies from the University Of Ghana. His works have been  published in the historic Afroyoung Adult anthology titled Waterbirds On the Lakeshore, Adabraka: Stories From the Center Of the World, Tampered Press and the Kalahari Review. He blogs at obolokofi.wordpress.com