The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on political parties to take concrete and measurable steps to increase women’s participation and representation in Nigeria’s political process ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
The Commission made the call during a high-level engagement with political parties on strengthening women’s political participation ahead of the 2027 elections in Abuja.
The engagement brought together political party leaders, development partners, women’s organisations, civil society groups and other election stakeholders to discuss practical strategies for increasing the number of women contesting and winning elective positions.
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, INEC noted that women continued to participate actively as voters but remained significantly underrepresented as candidates and elected officials.
Bello disclosed that only 1,556 out of 15,331 candidates in the 2023 General Election were women, representing 10.2 per cent of the total candidates.
She added that only three women were elected to the Senate and 16 to the House of Representatives during the election.
“While women continue to participate actively as voters, their representation as candidates and elected officials remains far below expectations,” Bello said.
She added that “achieving meaningful inclusion requires collective action from political parties, electoral stakeholders and development partners.”
Bello urged participants to use the engagement to identify practical solutions to the barriers limiting women’s political participation and strengthen collaboration ahead of the 2027 elections.
Declaring the engagement open on behalf of the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, National Commissioner Prof. Rhoda Habor Gumus reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to promoting an inclusive electoral process.
Gumus noted that 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.
She, however, said the strong participation of women as voters had not translated into corresponding representation in elective offices.
“Although women constitute almost half of the registered voters, this impressive participation has not translated into electoral success,” Gumus said.
She added: “Women remain grossly underrepresented in elective offices despite their numerical strength within the electorate.”
The National Commissioner challenged political parties to deliberately create opportunities for female candidates to compete effectively by providing equal access to party structures and essential campaign resources.
“Political parties must deliberately provide female candidates with equal access to party structures, campaign funding, media visibility, logistics, mentoring, security, fundraising networks and grassroots mobilisation,” she said.
Gumus urged political parties to move beyond verbal commitments and adopt practical measures that would produce measurable improvements in women’s representation.
“We must move beyond rhetoric and take concrete, measurable steps to ensure that women are not only participating in elections but are also given a fair opportunity to contest and win,” she said.
She stressed that stronger representation of women in political leadership would contribute to a more inclusive democratic process and ensure that women’s experiences and interests were better reflected in governance.
The National Commissioner also called for stronger collaboration among political parties, women’s organisations, civil society groups and development partners to address the structural, financial and institutional barriers limiting women’s participation.
She said the Commission would continue to engage stakeholders and support initiatives aimed at creating a more inclusive electoral environment ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
INEC said increasing women’s political representation would require sustained commitment from political parties and other stakeholders, particularly in providing female aspirants with the support, resources and opportunities needed to compete on a more equal footing.