Women Are Just 9.7% of Candidates — 2027 Elections; Who Will Answer for the Political Gap?

By George Omagbemi

Women account for 9.7 per cent of candidates contesting the presidency, vice-presidency and National Assembly seats in the 2027 election.

Nigeria’s 2027 elections are putting women’s political participation under fresh scrutiny, with data from the final candidate list showing that only 9.7 per cent of 4,899 candidates are women.

Of the 18 presidential candidates, only two are women, while four women are contesting for vice-president. At the National Assembly level, women account for 123 of 1,303 Senate candidates and 346 of 3,560 House of Representatives candidates.

The figures raise a fundamental accountability question: why does women’s representation remain so low despite repeated commitments to political inclusion?

Political parties control candidate recruitment and nominations, making their primaries and internal structures central to the issue. INEC has acknowledged exclusionary participation patterns and says its 2027 regulatory reforms will include measurable benchmarks for the participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities.

The accountability must therefore be concrete.

Political parties should publish transparent figures showing how many women sought nominations, how many received tickets and how much support was provided to female candidates. INEC should publicly monitor and report compliance with its inclusion benchmarks, while lawmakers should continue examining legal and institutional barriers that restrict women’s participation.

Civil society and voters also have a role: candidates and parties should be questioned on their records and commitments to women’s representation.

The 2027 election should not end with another set of promises. The public should demand measurable targets, transparent reporting and consequences for parties that repeatedly exclude women from meaningful political participation.