DID YOU KNOW? Only 9% of candidates for national assembly seats are women

Following a meeting on Tuesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) approved and published the final list for the 2023 elections.

The commission said it approved the final list of candidates “pursuant to section 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and item 8 of the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election”.

The list includes details such as names and educational qualifications of candidates contesting the presidency and seats on the national assembly.

According to INEC, 1,101 candidates are vying for 109 senatorial seats while 3,122 candidates are contesting for house of representatives seats.

The commission’s gender distribution shows that there are 3,840 men vying for national assembly seats – 1,008 for senate and 2,832 for the house of representatives.

As for women, 380 are vying for national assembly seats – 92, representing eight percent of the total candidates, for senate and 288, representing nine percent, for the house of representatives.

In total, only nine percent of the over 4,000 national assembly candidates are women.

Meanwhile, the presidential election has only one female candidate, Ojei Princess Chichi, of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM).

In 2019, 235 women, representing 12 percent of 1,904 candidates, contested for seats in the senate, while 533 women representing 11.6 percent of the 4,680 candidates contested house of representatives seats.

In total, 10.4 percent of national assembly candidates were women.

Going by the data, there has been a decrease in the number of women contesting for national assembly seats.