Nigeria examines 2019 elections, discusses enhanced women participation in future polls

June 30, 2019

National Conference on women political participation in Nigeria (Photo, UNDP Nigeria)

UNDP Nigeria, together with the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women (UN Women), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and leading Nigerian women Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) recently organized the National Conference on Women Political Participation in Nigeria. The conference which took place on the 27-28th June 2019 in Abuja brought together about 100 Nigerian female politicians including key stakeholders from across the country, leading Nigerian female civil society activists and opinion leaders.

The 2-day event was organised in order to conduct a postmortem of the 2019 polls that witnessed a decline in the number of women elected in the various legislative positions and also to develop a roadmap that would facilitate and enhance the participation of women future elections.

As part of UNDP's ongoing initiatives aimed at promoting the participation of Nigerian women in political and electoral processes in the country, in partnership with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), UNDP has been providing support towards the drafting of the Women Participation in Political and Electoral Process (WOPELS) Bill which is currently being debated in the National Assembly.

UNDP’s continued commitment to empowering Nigerian women entails that we work with institutions such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political and non-political actors and share knowledge and together explore avenues for expanding the space for women participation in political processes.

UNDP will continue with its support towards the design and operationalization of the strategic roadmap currently under development. Successful implementation of this framework will enhance women participation and inclusion in future political processes, especially elections.

UNDP’s support to the electoral process in the country is through the project Support to Electoral Integrity and Democratic Empowerment which was designed to provide technical support to INEC to enable the electoral management body to carry out its functions efficiently and facilitate the holding of credible, free and fair elections.