Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Joash Amupitan, has urged political parties to go beyond verbal commitments and take practical steps to increase women’s participation in politics.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja during an engagement with political party leaders, female candidates, civil society organisations and development partners ahead of the 2027 general election, he said “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.”
Represented by National Commissioner, Rhoda Gumus, the INEC Chairman said the issue confronting the Commission was “not simply about the participation of women in one electoral cycle,” but one that concerns “the character, inclusiveness and long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s democracy.”
Prof. Amupitan noted that women constitute a significant portion of Nigeria’s voting population, accounting for 44,414,846 of the 93,469,008 registered voters in the 2023 general election.
He further disclosed that out of the 3,867,997 Nigerians who completed voter registration for the 2027 elections as of July 26, 2026, women accounted for 2,037,589, representing 52.68 per cent, while men accounted for 1,830,408.
“Women therefore accounted for the majority of new registrants in the final phase of the exercise. Women are not marginal to Nigeria’s electoral population. They are a substantial part of the electorate,” the INEC Chairman said.
However, Prof. Amupitan observed that the significant presence of women at polling units had not translated into a corresponding level of representation in political candidacy and elected offices.
Citing data from the 2023 elections, he said women made up only 1,556 of the 15,331 candidates who contested major elective positions, representing 10.15 per cent.
He added that only three women won seats in the Senate, while 16 women were elected into the House of Representatives, accounting for 2.8 per cent and 4.4 per cent of the respective seats.
“A substantial gap appears to exist between women’s participation as voters and their participation as political leaders,” Prof. Amupitan added.
He called on political parties to identify practical measures to support female candidates, including “access to party structures and leadership, campaign platforms, media visibility, fundraising networks, mentoring, political communication, logistics, security and grassroots mobilisation.”
The INEC Chairman also urged the parties to assess whether women were being provided with meaningful opportunities to advance within their political structures.
He maintained that “the participation of women is not a favour to women. It is a democratic imperative,” and called on political parties to move “from commitment to action, from aspiration to implementation.”
INEC Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, said improving women’s participation in politics “cannot be achieved by the Commission or by any single institution acting in isolation,” stressing the need for “a collective commitment and sustained action from all stakeholders.”
Oriaran-Anthony said political parties, as “the principal vehicles through which citizens organise, seek elective office and participate in democratic governance,” have a direct responsibility to ensure that women have adequate opportunities to participate in politics.
