Women Face Barriers in 2027 Party Primaries, Say Advocates

A recent review of political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections shows that gaps in the Electoral Act, expensive nomination forms, and money politics are blocking women from participating and becoming candidates.

Gender rights advocates and electoral experts shared these findings at a media briefing on Wednesday via X Space. They discussed an audit of internal party elections.

Cynthia Mbamalu, a gender and human rights advocate, said the Electoral Act 2026 limits party primaries to direct and consensus modes. She noted that it does not provide clear instructions for direct primaries.

Mbamalu pointed out that Section 86 of the Act gives political parties too much freedom in designing guidelines, which reduces transparency. She said, "Ordinarily, direct primaries should have been a saving grace for marginalized groups, especially women, but the way parties implemented them closed the space."

As the Director of Programmes at Yiaga Africa, she explained that weak rules allowed parties to manipulate membership lists and screening processes. She called this the first step to exclusion.

Mbamalu added that screening processes are unfriendly to women and aspirants who are not favored by party leaders. This forces some women to withdraw or contest unfair results.

She also mentioned that high nomination fees and the influence of governors, especially in the All Progressives Congress (APC), are major challenges for women. Even when fees are reduced, it does not guarantee their inclusion.

Mbamalu urged for a review of disputed primaries and the reinstatement of women who were pushed out despite winning their rightful positions.

Toun Sonaiya, Executive Director of Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation, also spoke during the webinar. She accused political parties of making exclusion a norm through consensus agreements and unclear candidate selection processes.

Sonaiya represented a group of women-led organizations, including the Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation, Women in Politics Forum, Gender Strategy Advancement International, and the Ene Obi Centre for Development. She said women who meet all party requirements often face pressure to withdraw or are replaced through backdoor methods.

She highlighted that women make up 49.5 per cent of Nigeria’s over 200 million population but hold less than 4 per cent of National Assembly seats, 4.7 per cent of state assembly seats, and no governorship positions. Women are also missing in 14 state houses of assembly.

Despite Nigeria’s commitments under several international agreements, like the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, the actual implementation remains weak.

Bukola Shonibare from Invictus Africa presented data showing that women's political participation has been very low since 1999. She said that the highest number of female presidential candidates was 8.2 per cent in 2019, while 2023 saw the lowest at 5.6 per cent.

For Senate races, the highest was 16.7 per cent in 2015 and the lowest was 7.4 per cent in 2007. Data for 1999 and 2003 were not available.

Shonibare said only three parties have more than 20 per cent female aspirants: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at 28.2 per cent, Youth Progressive Party (YPP) at 22.7 per cent, and Youth Party (YP) at 20 per cent. The lowest are National Rescue Movement (11.8 per cent), APC (10.4 per cent), and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), which had no female aspirants.

She added that APC had 2,008 aspirants (1,799 men and 209 women), while PDP had 1,271 aspirants (913 men and 358 women).

Austin Aigbe, a gender equity advocate, warned that these numbers would likely fall further. He said low female representation is becoming a norm in Nigeria’s politics.

Aigbe stated that only legislation can fix this problem, not just training or advocacy. He criticized what he called tokenism from parties, citing fee discounts and waivers that are often canceled during consensus arrangements, leaving women out.

The coalition called on political parties and state governors to publish data on women who bought forms, were screened, stepped down, or excluded through consensus, or became candidates.

They also demanded an end to backdoor exclusions, the adoption of binding inclusion policies, and that female deputy governorship candidates be nominated alongside male candidates.

The group urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen oversight of party primaries and ensure fairness.

They also asked President Bola Tinubu to support a special seats bill for women in the National Assembly. They stressed that this is a democratic correction, not charity.

Women’s representation in Nigeria’s public offices is low. Out of 360 members in the House of Representatives, only 17 are women. In the Senate, there are just four women among 109 members.

Efforts to boost women’s participation in elections continue, but progress has been slow. Political parties, civil society groups, and lawmakers have pushed for reforms to improve women’s representation. Yet many of these ideas face legislative challenges or lack the political backing needed to succeed.

One recent effort is the Reserved Seats for Women Bill, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and 12 other lawmakers. This bill aims to tackle Nigeria’s gender imbalance in elective offices by creating extra seats for women in the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly.

If approved, it would be a major step toward better women’s political representation in Nigeria’s history. But the proposal still needs final approval, leaving uncertainty about its future.