…GSAI, CISLAC, PWAN, PAACA decry political gatekeeping, cost, violence

Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI), other women’s groups and civil society organisations have expressed concern over the fact that only 443 women are among the 4,408 candidates cleared to contest the 469 seats in the Senate and House of Representatives in the 2027 general elections, calling for renewed structural reforms to address the persistent exclusion of women from elective politics.

The development formed the focus of a press conference in Abuja organised by GSAI, in collaboration with Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), PAACA and other stakeholders, under the theme, “Beyond Participation: Amplifying Women Candidates, Advancing Political Leadership and Building an Inclusive Nigeria for 2027.”

Executive Director of GSAI, Adaora Onyechere Sydney-Jack, said the figures exposed the gap between women’s participation in the electoral process and their access to political power.

According to Sydney-Jack, the figures contained in the final candidate lists released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show that women constitute only 10.1 per cent of the National Assembly candidates, compared with 3,965 men.

A breakdown of the list shows that 115 women are among the 1,195 candidates contesting the 109 Senate seats, representing 9.6 per cent, while 328 women are among the 3,213 candidates seeking election to the 360-member House of Representatives, representing 10.2 per cent.

Although the number of female candidates has risen from the 380 recorded in the 2023 National Assembly elections, the latest figures indicate that women remain a small minority of those seeking seats in the federal legislature.

She said the debate should no longer be centred on whether Nigerian women were ready to lead, but on whether political institutions were creating equitable pathways for them to contest and win.

«“The question before Nigeria is not whether women are prepared to lead. The question is whether our political systems are creating equitable pathways for women to compete, be visible, and succeed,” she said.»

She said women continued to confront multiple structural barriers, particularly the rising cost of political participation, limited access to campaign financing, weak political networks and inadequate media visibility.

She noted that nomination fees, campaign logistics, mobilisation, media exposure and other electoral expenses increasingly determine who can remain competitive in the political arena.

«“Women candidates often face additional disadvantages due to limited access to political financing, established networks, and traditional sources of campaign support,” she said.»

Sydney-Jack also drew attention to the role of the media, arguing that women candidates needed to be reported as political actors with policy positions and leadership records rather than merely as women participating in elections.

She urged media organisations to provide women candidates with consistent, evidence-based coverage, including headline stories, interviews, debates and policy analysis, while strengthening gender-responsive reporting ahead of the 2027 elections.

«“Women candidates should not be presented merely as ‘the few women running.’ They should be profiled as political actors with ideas, policy positions, governance records, and solutions for Nigeria,” she said.»

The GSAI executive director further called for consideration of reserved seats for women as part of wider electoral reforms, stressing that such a mechanism would not replace competitive elections but could address historical barriers to women’s representation in legislative institutions.

Her position was reinforced by the Executive Director of Partners West Africa Nigeria, Kemi Okenyodo, who said the composition of the 2027 ballot raised broader concerns about the inclusiveness of Nigeria’s democratic system.

Okenyodo said the exclusion extended beyond women to young people and persons living with disabilities, arguing that the composition of the ballot did not sufficiently reflect the diversity of the Nigerian population.

“What we see is more of an exclusion: we don’t have enough women on the ballot, we don’t have enough young people, and we don’t have persons living with disabilities,” she said.

She attributed the situation to political gatekeepers and systems that make it difficult for marginalised groups to secure political tickets.

According to her, political parties that make commitments to inclusion should be held accountable for translating those commitments into actual representation.

While noting that INEC could encourage political parties to embrace more inclusive practices, she stressed that parties remained central to determining who eventually appeared on the ballot.

“INEC presents to you what the political parties have done. INEC can only advocate the same way we are advocating, that political parties should be more inclusive and they should ensure that they raise inclusivity and maybe have quotas, have a way of ensuring that the people that represent or come to the ballot are inclusive, is representative of the country,” she said.

Okenyodo also urged civil society organisations to take their advocacy beyond established networks and ensure that messages on political inclusion reach women at the grassroots.

She said partnerships with the media were particularly important in taking the conversation to a wider audience.

For the Executive Director of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Rafsanjani, the barriers confronting women begin much earlier than election day.

He identified electoral violence, political patronage, alleged bribery and the dominance of male-controlled party structures among the factors discouraging women from seeking elective office.

“The institutionalization of violence has been one of the major barriers that women are not able to participate in the electoral process,” he said.

Rafsanjani also criticised the practice of confining women to mobilisation and support roles within political parties while reserving strategic leadership positions for men.

According to him, women are often encouraged to mobilise voters but are not given equivalent opportunities to occupy influential party positions.

“They will never give them chairmanship or vice-chairmanship or secretary or any serious position, it is only women leaders,” he said.

He added that women remained central to electoral participation as voters, creating a contradiction between their numerical strength at the polling booth and their limited access to political leadership.

The speakers therefore called on political parties, civil society organisations, development partners, the media, electoral stakeholders and citizens to address the barriers preventing women from moving from political participation to actual representation.

The latest INEC figures show that women’s representation varies significantly across the country. At the senatorial level, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Niger and Yobe have no female candidates, while Akwa Ibom recorded the highest number, with 10 women contesting Senate seats.

The 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, according to INEC’s published electoral timetable.

For GSAI and its partners, however, the concern goes beyond the number of women who eventually win seats.

Sydney-Jack said political inclusion should be measured by women’s ability to become “visible, competitive, elected, and empowered” to contribute to national development, calling for a shift from participation to influence and from presence to meaningful representation.