By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has challenged political parties to move beyond mere promises and take concrete, measurable steps to increase women’s political participation and representation ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

INEC said Nigeria’s democracy could not fully realise its representative potential if women were mobilised as voters but denied adequate opportunities to emerge as political leaders.

The Commission made the call during a strategic engagement with political party leaders, female candidates, civil society organisations, development partners and the media in Abuja on Wednesday.

Speaking on behalf of INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, the National Commissioner, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, said the issue of women’s political participation was not limited to a single election cycle but concerned the inclusiveness, character and long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s democracy.

“A democracy that mobilises women as voters but provides limited pathways for them to become political leaders is yet to fully realise its representative potential,” she said at the engagement held at Rockview Hotel Royale, Abuja.

Prof. Gumus noted that women remained a formidable force in Nigeria’s electoral process, accounting for 44,414,846 of the 93,469,008 registered voters in the 2023 General Election.

She said the figure represented 47.52 per cent of registered voters, meaning that nearly one out of every two registered voters in the country was a woman.

According to her, the trend has continued in the ongoing voter registration exercise ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

She disclosed that out of the 3,867,997 Nigerians who completed registration during the third phase of the exercise as of July 26, 2026, women accounted for 2,037,589, representing 52.68 per cent, while men accounted for 1,830,408 registrants.

“Women therefore accounted for the majority of new registrants in the final phase of the exercise,” she said.

“Women are not marginal to Nigeria’s electoral population. They are a substantial part of the electorate.”

However, Gumus expressed concern that the significant participation of women as voters had not translated into similar representation among candidates and elected public office holders.

She said that of the 15,331 candidates who contested major elective positions in the 2023 General Election, only 1,556, representing 10.15 per cent, were women.

She added that only three women were elected into the Senate, representing 2.8 per cent of the chamber, while 16 women emerged members of the House of Representatives, accounting for 4.4 per cent.

“A substantial gap appears to exist between women’s participation as voters and their participation as political leaders,” she said.

The National Commissioner therefore urged political parties to examine the practical support available to female aspirants and candidates, particularly in areas of access to party structures and leadership positions, campaign platforms, media visibility, fundraising networks, mentorship, political communication, logistics, security and grassroots mobilisation.

She also challenged political parties to determine whether women were being given genuine opportunities to rise through their internal party structures.

“The participation of women is not a favour to women. It is a democratic imperative,” Gumus declared.

She urged political parties to move “from commitment to action, from aspiration to implementation.”

In a welcome address, the Secretary to the Commission, Dr. Rose Oriaran-Anthony, said the advancement of women’s political participation could not be achieved by INEC or any single institution acting alone.

The address was read on her behalf by the Director of the Gender and Inclusivity Department, Mrs. Lakunuya Dorothy Bello.

Oriaran-Anthony said sustained progress would require collective commitment and action by political parties, government institutions, civil society organisations, development partners, the media and other stakeholders.

She described political parties as the principal vehicles through which citizens organise, seek elective office and participate in democratic governance.

According to her, the policies, structures, internal processes and practices of political parties play a major role in determining who eventually contests and wins elections.

She urged participants to approach the engagement with openness and collaboration, stressing that the meeting was designed to move stakeholders beyond merely acknowledging the challenges facing women in politics towards practical and achievable commitments.

The objectives of the engagement were presented by the Deputy Director, Gender Relations, Mrs. Hembadoon Akaayar, on behalf of Mrs. Bello.

She outlined seven major goals, including securing concrete commitments from political parties to support female candidates; promoting equitable access to campaign resources and opportunities; increasing the visibility of female candidates; and strengthening protection against violence, intimidation, harassment and discrimination.

Other objectives include promoting a more supportive political environment for women, encouraging sustained political support beyond the 2027 elections, and strengthening collaboration, monitoring and accountability among stakeholders.

“Our expectation is that this engagement will produce practical and measurable commitments from participating political parties rather than general expressions of goodwill,” Akaayar said.

She added that the Commission was particularly interested in moving from broad statements of support to commitments that were specific, measurable and capable of being monitored.

Delivering the keynote address on the theme, “Strengthening Women’s Political Participation and Representation: Opportunities, Challenges and Strategies for Political Parties Towards the 2027 General Elections,” Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzi, a former Director of Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Civil Societies Liaison at INEC, said Nigeria remained among the least responsive countries in terms of women’s representation in elected public offices.

Osaze-Uzi, who is also a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Edo State, said women constituted about half of Nigeria’s population and electorate but occupied only about five per cent of seats in the National Assembly.

He also noted that no woman had ever been elected President or Governor in Nigeria.

Tracing the history of women’s participation in presidential elections since 1999, Osaze-Uzi said Nigeria’s political system had continued to lag behind several African countries that had adopted deliberate measures to close the gender gap in governance.

He cited Rwanda, which rose from less than five per cent female parliamentary representation in 1994 to nearly 64 per cent today, as well as Senegal’s Parity Law of 2010.

He also referred to voluntary party quota systems adopted in countries such as Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Cape Verde.

According to him, 41 out of Africa’s 54 countries currently operate one form of gender quota or another.

Osaze-Uzi identified weak legal frameworks, cultural barriers, insecurity, financial constraints and lack of political will as some of the major factors limiting women’s participation in Nigerian politics.

He recommended stronger legal and institutional frameworks, effective enforcement of party commitments, dedicated campaign funding for women, mentorship programmes and zero tolerance for intimidation, threats and sexual harassment against female candidates.

“The evidence also shows how much can be achieved even with voluntary quotas where there is strong commitment and political will,” he said.

INEC urged all political parties participating in the engagement to make concrete and measurable commitments towards supporting female candidates ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

The Commission stressed that women, who constitute almost half of Nigeria’s electorate and formed the majority of new registrants in the latest phase of voter registration, must also be given fair and meaningful opportunities to contribute to the political leadership of the country.