Beyond Rhetoric: INEC Demands Concrete Action on Women’s Political Inclusion

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) called on political parties to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete, measurable steps to strengthen women’s participation and representation in Nigeria’s political process ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

The call was made during a high-level Engagement with Political Parties on Strengthening Women’s Political Participation Ahead of the 2027 General Elections, organised by the Commission in Abuja. The engagement brought together leaders of political parties, development partners, women’s organisations, civil society groups and election stakeholders to chart practical strategies for increasing women’s representation in elective offices.

In a welcome address delivered on behalf of the Secretary to the Commission, Dr. Rose Anthony-Orianran, by the Director, Gender and Inclusivity Department, Mrs. Lakunuya Dorothy Bello, participants were reminded that while women continue to participate actively as voters, their representation as candidates and elected officials remains far below expectations.

She noted that only 1,556 out of 15,331 candidates (10.2%) in the 2023 General Election were women, with only three women elected to the Senate and sixteen to the House of Representatives, stressing that achieving meaningful inclusion requires collective action from political parties, electoral stakeholders and development partners. She urged participants to use the engagement to identify practical solutions that would remove barriers to women’s political participation and strengthen collaboration ahead of 2027.

Declaring the engagement open on behalf of the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, National Commissioner Prof. (Mrs.) Rhoda Habor Gumus conveyed the Chairman’s apology for his absence due to another national assignment and reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to promoting inclusive democracy.

She observed that although women accounted for 47.5 per cent of registered voters in the 2023 General Election and constituted the majority of registrants during the final phase of the recently concluded Continuous Voter Registration exercise, this impressive participation has not translated into electoral success.

According to her, women remain grossly underrepresented in elective offices despite their numerical strength within the electorate. She therefore challenged political parties to deliberately provide female candidates with equal access to party structures, campaign funding, media visibility, logistics, mentoring, security, fundraising networks and grassroots mobilisation.