Anambra 2025: Report shows women likely to dominate voting

By Vincent Ujumadu

As the November 8 Anambra State governorship predetermination approaches, a survey by ElectHER, a Pan-African non-partisan organisation promoting gender-inclusive democracy, has revealed that women are apt to predominate the electoral process based connected elector data.

The report, released aft an advocacy programme successful Awka with enactment from the European Union Support to Democratic Governance successful Nigeria (EU-SDGN), showed that women marque up a bulk of the caller registrants. Out of the precocious conducted elector registration exercise, 97,832 (58%) were women, portion 70,355 (42%) were men.

While women’s wide practice successful Nigeria’s nationalist work remains low, Anambra stands retired arsenic 1 of the astir progressive states successful presumption of pistillate governmental information and enactment since the instrumentality to ideology successful 1999. The authorities has produced a pistillate politician (2006–2007), 4 pistillate senators, 12 pistillate House of Representatives members, and six pistillate ministers.

“Why this matters for the 2025 predetermination is that the bequest of visibility signals accidental arsenic Anambra women participate the polls with a beardown precedent, though the structural and organization barriers remain,” the study noted.

Despite this history, the study observed that pistillate practice astatine the apical level remains limited, with lone 2 of the 16 governorship candidates successful 2025 being women. However, women marque up 37.5% of lawman governorship candidates connected male-led tickets, a inclination the organisation suggested reflects governmental parties’ penchant for sex optics alternatively than enabling women to lead.

ElectHER’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Ibijoke Faborode, besides expressed interest astir the information concern up of the polls.

Her study stated: “The information scenery successful Anambra up of the November 2025 predetermination is already showing signs of tension, with gendered risks peculiarly evident. Based connected reported incidents and elector sentiment data, residents successful immoderate LGAs highlighted fearfulness of unit and insecurity arsenic deterrents to voting. A Red-Amber-Green information appraisal has been developed crossed the state’s 21 LGAs, with reddish indicating precocious risk, amber mean risk, and greenish debased risk.”

The study urged coordinated enactment from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), information agencies, and governmental parties to guarantee a credible, inclusive, and violence-free election. Among its recommendations were:

INEC should standard up adhoc unit recruitment beyond the planned 26,000 to lucifer the expanded elector register.

The committee should dismantle bottlenecks successful PVC postulation and intensify elector education, particularly among women.

At slightest 1 pistillate authoritative should beryllium deployed per polling unit.

Security agencies should deploy proactively to flashpoints with gender-sensitive measures, including pistillate officers and accelerated effect systems to forestall intimidation of pistillate voters, staff, and candidates.

Political parties should align run messages with elector priorities—security, occupation creation, and healthcare—while besides giving visibility to pistillate candidates and ensuring inclusivity successful their run structures.

As portion of the advocacy, ElectHER officials visited cardinal stakeholders, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The State Commandant, Maku Olatunde, reaffirmed the Corps’ readiness to unafraid the process before, during, and aft the polls, assuring that pistillate officers would beryllium deployed successful capable numbers.

He stressed that inclusivity successful information operations is indispensable for credible elections.

The station Anambra 2025: Report shows women apt to predominate voting appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.