Female participation in Nigerian politics appalling says INEC chairman

…Says INEC’s commitment has not addressed decline in women participation

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has described as appaling, involvement of the female gender at all levels in Nigeria’s 2019 general elections.

He said the nation has fell short of the reserved equal opportunities given to both the male and female gender to advance socially, politically and economically by the principle of non-discrimination as enshrined in Section 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.

Prof. Yakubu said this on Friday at INEC’s review meeting of 2019 general elections from a gender perspective, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja .

Represented by Prof. Ade Ogunmola, Commissioner in charge of Outreach and Partnership Committee, the chairman said the holistic evaluation of the conduct of the 2019 elections would be incomplete without assessing the participation of women in the elections.

According to him, evidences abound of several negative aspects of gender relations such as disparities between male and female access to power and resources played out in the last general elections.

He said huge efforts made by INEC, as a gender responsive organization and Election Management Body that is committed to support the participation of women in the electoral process did not succeed in addressing the decline of women’s representation in politics.

This, he said has become worrisome as women’s participation in governance and leadership is not only essential prerequisite for removing gender inequality but also the attainment of basic human rights.

The INEC chairman said, the 2019 General Election activities and engagements showed high level participation of women in the electoral process as aspirants but due to barriers they regressed in the number that won elections.

“The party primaries amongst others fell short of expectations as many women could not secure tickets to represent their parties.

During the elections, only 5 out of the 73 candidates who ran for the position of President were women, 1,668 men and 232 women vied for the 109 Senatorial seats while 4,139 men and 533 women contended for 360 seats in the House of Representatives.

“At the end of the election, only 7 women won Senatorial seats and 11 were elected into the House of Representatives while 4 were elected as deputy Governors.

“However, other countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa have laid examples to follow.

For instance, 12 Sub-Saharan countries elected more than 30% women to legislative positions, while Rwanda reportedly have so many success stories and advancement in electing women to more than 60% of its legislative positions”.

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However, Yakubu said, there is the need to review the operational framework put in place by the Commission, identify success factors with a view to consolidating and sustaining them.

He noted that the reviews are not about the Commission alone but about mutual credibility for a successful electoral process and outcome in the future elections.

“Let me re-emphasize that as an EMB, we have remained committed to promoting a level playing field for political participation of all stakeholders in the electoral process within our regulatory mandate, with specific regard to gender equality in the electoral process.

“INEC developed its Gender Policy to ensure that its electoral functions and operations are gender sensitive and responsive. The policy is expected to foster gender balance in the Commission and to stimulate stakeholders in the electoral process to do the same.

“We will continue to engage with critical stakeholders at various levels to support and interrogate gender issues in politics and political processes in Nigeria. Constructive criticisms and suggestions will be welcomed to strengthen women’s participation in the electoral process”, he said