Saturday 6 October 2018

INEC's ROLE IN ENHANCING WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

Between the 26th and 27th of September, 2018, the coalition of women politicians, scholars and activists was born at the conference convened by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on its role in enhancing women's participation in the electoral process. The conference was supported by the EU. Some papers were presented:

*INEC's role in women's participation in the electoral process.
*Theoretical and practical perspectives of women's role in the electoral process.
*Enhancing opportunities for women and PWDs in Political Parties.
*The role of civil society and the media in enhancing women's participation in politics.
*Emerging trends in women's participation in politics.
*Comparative analysis of women's participation with other countries.
*Strengthening synergy among politicians, scholars and activists on enhancing women's participation in the electoral process: A programme of action.
*Prospects and challenges of young female entrants and PWDs in the electoral process.

Some of the participants are:

*Sen. Suleiman Nazif - Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC
*Hon Aishatu Jibril Dukku - Chair, House Committee on Electoral & Political Party Affairs
*Ms. Comfort Lamtey - UN Women Country Representative for Nigeria & ECOWAS
*Monica Frassoni - ECES President
*Shalva Kiphidza - Country Director, IFES
*Prof. Bola Udegbe - Director, International Programmes & Professor of Psychology, UI
*Dr. Dayo Oluyemi-Kusa - Independent Consultant/Conflict Transformation Expert, Abuja
*Prof. Antonia Okoosi-Simbine - National Commissioner, INEC
*Prof. Yinka Omoregbe - Attorney-General & Commissioner for Justice, Edo State
*Dr. Amina Salihu - Snr. Programme Officer, McArthur Foundation
*Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola - National Commissioner, INEC
*Barr. Ebere Ifendu - President, Women In Politics Forum (WIPF)
*Ms. Julie Sanda - Senior Research Fellow, Nigeria Defense College (NDC), Abuja
*Patience Dickson - Advocacy for Women with Disability
*Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim - Senior Fellow, Centre for Democracy & Development (CDD)
*Dr. Abiola Akiyode - Executive Director, WARDC
*Barr. May Agbamuche Mbu - National Commissioner, INEC
*Dr. Irene Pogoson - Department of Political Science, UI
*Aye Georgina Dakpokpo - National Chairman, Young Democratic Party (YDP)
*Cynthia Mbamalu - YIAGA
*Dr. Asmau Maikudi - REC, INEC, Zamfara State
*Prof. Remi Sonaiya - Professor of French & Applied Linguistics/Former Presidential Candidate, KOWA Party
*Ms. Ekaette Umoh - President, JONAPWD
*Abiodun Essiet - Young female politician

Some of the observations & recommendations are:

1) A coalition of politicians, scholars and activists with the aim of enhancing women's participation in politics should be formed.
2) More policy makers should be invited to subsequent meetings.
3) The 4 Ps that keep women down are: Politics, Patriarchy, Power & Poverty.
4) There should be gender-sensitive election reporting. Female politicians should be adequately reported in both the traditional and social media. Note the 'Code of Conduct for the Media in Elections' - Sec 1: Equitable access to the media; Sec 21.5: No hate speech & adherence to professionalism.
5) There should be safe spaces for women in politics, some form of quota system because the playing field is not level and is skewed against women.
6) Vulnerable sub-populations like women, PWDs, the aged, etc should be included in the electoral process. Impairment is not equivalent to disability. Disability is a societal construct. See UN Convention (Art 29) on the rights of  PWDs. Only 2% of PWDs have formal education.
7) Young women in politics should be encouraged. The role mentoring plays is key.
8) More male champions are needed: 'He for She'.
9) Gender stereotypes should be eliminated from curricula.
10) INEC's Gender Desk should continually monitor the civic space for women's participaton in politics.

The proposed action plan entails the definite steps to be taken to actualise the above aims of the new coalition...

Related Links

*Credible elections: INEC's proposed reforms & attendant challenges     https://tribuneonlineng.com/credible-elections-inecs-proposed-reforms-challenges/
*INEC spends N444.5b on 3 national elections with 35% turn-out    https://www.thisdaylive.com/.../inec-spends-n444b-3-elections.../
*'Consider underage married girls (below 18 years) as voters', NASS tells INEC    https://punchng.com/consider-underage-married-girls-as-voters-nass-tells-inec/
*Leveraging technology for the efficiency of Nigeria's electoral system    opinion.premiumtimesng.com/2021/01/11/leveraging-technology-nigerias-electoral-system/
*Elections & instability in Africa    https://issafrica.org/iss-today/elections-and-nstability-africa/
*INEC & creation of new polling booths by Jibrin Ibrahim    newsdiaryonline.com
*Wanted: Credible election system for Nigeria    thenationng.net
*20 proposals to resolve electoral conflicts & strengthen democracy by Ken Cloke    https://lnkd.in/dj-DQJM
*Personal data & the influence industry in Nigeria's elections: Data-driven campaigning by formal& informal actors    https://cutt.ly/ilZlbTD    https://cddwestafrica.org/personal-data-data-driven-campaigns/
*Judgments & jurisprudence: Presiding over Presidential petitions in Africa    cddwestafrica.org
*Insecurity & Covid-19: Threats to electoral democracy in Africa     cddwestafrica.org
*Preventing bloody ballots     nextierspd.com
*The salience of de-politicising EMBs in electoral democracies    yiaga.org

 


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