By Taibat Ummi Yakubu 

 A coalition of women-focused civil society organisations has called for urgent electoral reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections following the release of an audit that revealed widespread underrepresentation of women in political party primaries.

The coalition, comprising the Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation (VOWEF), Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), EneObi Centre for Development (ECD), and Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI), said the findings highlighted deep-rooted barriers preventing women from participating effectively in Nigeria’s political process.

In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, the groups expressed concern over what they described as exclusionary practices across the primaries of 22 registered political parties, calling for legislative, institutional and policy reforms to address the imbalance.

Executive Director of Invictus Africa, Ms Bukky Shonibare, said the audit uncovered persistent obstacles faced by female aspirants, including forced withdrawals, non-transparent consensus arrangements and last-minute candidate substitutions.

According to her, only three political parties recorded female aspirant participation above 20 per cent. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led with 28.2 per cent, followed by the Young Progressives Party (YPP) with 22.2 per cent and the Youth Party (YP) with 20 per cent.

She noted that participation rates in other parties remained significantly lower, with the National Rescue Movement (NRM) recording 11.8 per cent, the All Progressives Congress (APC) 10.4 per cent, while the NNPPP recorded no female aspirants.

Shonibare further disclosed that only three women emerged as senatorial candidates across all 22 political parties, warning that women could occupy as little as 2.7 per cent of Senate seats after the 2027 elections if the trend continues.

Also speaking, VOWEF Co-founder and Executive Director, Mrs Toun Sonaiya, described the primaries as reflective of a system that continues to sideline women from political leadership.

She warned that unless immediate action is taken, women's representation in elective positions could decline further compared to the 2023 elections.

Gender advocate, Mr Austin Aigbe, identified the proposed Special Seats Bill as a critical legislative solution to improving women's political representation, stressing that advocacy alone would not be enough to achieve meaningful change.

Similarly, Cynthia Mbamalu of Yiaga Africa urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish detailed gender-disaggregated reports on party primaries and candidate selection processes to enhance transparency and accountability.

For her part, Adaora Sydney-Jack of GSAI said the marginalisation of women in politics was a structural challenge that could not be attributed to a lack of competence or qualified female candidates.

The National President of WIPF, Ebere Ifendu, called on political parties to strengthen internal democracy and take decisive action against violence, intimidation and discriminatory practices targeting female aspirants.

Ene Obi of the ECD also advocated greater investment in women's political empowerment and the implementation of existing affirmative action commitments and relevant court rulings.

Abosede George Ogan of Women’s Initiatives for Leadership Advancement (WILAN) urged stakeholders to intensify efforts aimed at strengthening women's political and economic influence through leadership training, technology, funding support and grassroots mobilisation.

The coalition appealed to President Bola Tinubu to support the passage of the Special Seats Bill, describing it as a necessary step toward correcting long-standing gender disparities in governance.

It also called on political parties to adopt a policy mandating male governorship candidates to run with female deputy governorship candidates during the 2027 elections.

In addition, the coalition unveiled a seven-point charter of demands directed at political parties, INEC and the Federal Government. The proposals include the publication of gender-disaggregated electoral data, elimination of exclusionary practices, enforcement of internal party democracy and increased opportunities for women seeking elective office.

The groups reaffirmed their commitment to monitoring the 2027 electoral process, documenting cases of exclusion and holding political actors accountable for actions that undermine women's political participation.