Anambra 2025: Report shows women likely to dominate voting

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By Madu Obi

As the November 8 Anambra State governorship election draws near, a research by ElectHER, a Pan-African non-partisan organisation advancing gender-inclusive democracy, has shown that women are very likely going to dominate the electoral process based on available data

In the report released after an advocacy programme in Awka, the organisation, which received support from the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN), observed that women will form the substantial part of the electorate in the November election.

According to the organization, the recently conducted voter registration exercise showed that 97,832 (58%) were women, while 70,355 (42%) were men.

"While Nigeria's overall women representation in public service remains low, Anambra State stands out as one of the country's most progressive states in terms of women's political participation and leadership since the start of the Fourth Republic in 1999.

The state's record stands as one female governor (2006-2007), four female senators,12 female House of Representatives members and six female Ministers. Why this matters for the 2025 election is that the legacy of visibility signals opportunity as Anambra women enter the polls with a strong precedent, though the structural and institutional barriers remain", the report noted.

The organization, however, observed that despite Anambra's relatively historical record, female representation at the top of the ticket remained low in 2025, with only two out of the 16 governorship candidates being women.

"The higher percentage of women as deputy governorship candidates (37.5%) of male- led tickets suggests that the political parties may be leveraging these positions to balance gender optics, rather than enabling women to lead tickets", the report added.

ElectHER’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Ibijoke Faborode, however, expressed worry over the security situation ahead of the election.

Her report said in part: "The security landscape in Anambra ahead of the November 2025 election is already showing signs of tension, with gendered risks particularly evident.

Based on reported security incidents, triangulated against ElectHER voter sentiment data, where residents in some LGAs highlighted fear of violence and community insecurity as major deterrents to voting, a Red - Amber - Green security assessment has been developed across Anambra's 21 LGAs, with red indicating high risk, amber moderate risk and green low risk.

To deliver a credible, inclusive and violence-free election, coordinated action is required from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, security agencies, and political parties.

ElectHER urges INEC to scale up adhoc staff recruitment beyond its planned 26,000, to match the expanded voter register, as well as dismantle bottlenecks in accessing PVCs.

The electoral body should also strengthen voter education by directly diseminating materials, especially to women, to ensure adequate gender representation in the deployment and mobilization of electoral officers, such that there should be at least one female official per polling unit.

" For security agencies, there should be proactive deployment to identified flashpoints, with gender- sensitive protection measures, including female security presence and rapid response systems to address the issue of intimidation of female staff, candidates and voters.

" Political parties should align their campaign messages with voter's top concerns , which include security, job creation and healthcare, while embracing visibility of female candidates and ensuring inclusivity within campaign structures to reflect electorate expectations."

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As part of the advocacy, officials of ElectHER visited some organizations, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), where the State Commandant, Maku Olatunde reiterated the Corps’ readiness to secure the electoral process before, during, and after the polls.

He promised that female officers would be deployed in sufficient numbers, noting that inclusivity in security operations is vital for credible elections.