Civil society organization, Gender and Election Watch(GEW), an initiative of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF),
has urged Independent Electoral Commission(INEC), security operatives on conducive aarmsphere for participation of women voters during the Saturday’s Governorship election in Ekiti state.
The CEO of the Gender and Election Watch, Mufuliat Fijab disclosed this to Newssphere on Friday in Abuja.
According to the statement, GEM advised that all pointers or actions that could lead to irregularities in the 18 June 2022 Ekiti Governorship election should be avoided to increase the credibility and fairness of the election.
The group further called on all registered voters in Ekiti State and women to turn out en-masse to participate in the election on Saturday 18 June 2022.
The group in it pre-election observation noted:
“That sixteen (16) candidates contesting the governorship election, in 2022, there are only two, (2) female candidates representing only 12.5% of the total candidates. This is a pointer to the extent of inclusion of women in Ekiti State Governorship election compared to the 2018 Governorship election where there was no female candidate.
“That of the Sixteen (16) Deputy Governorship Candidates Only Seven (7) are female candidates. This represents 43.8% of the Deputy Governorship candidates compared to the Ten, (10) female Deputy Governorship Candidates out of the Thirty – Five, (35) in the 2018 Governorship election”, it stated.
Meanwhile, GEM particularly urged the following as the election commences in Ekiti today:
“That the security agents should continue to ensure that the atmosphere is calm to encourage the participation of all registered voters, especially women.
That all electoral stakeholders are guided by the 2022 INEC Guidelines on the Ekiti Election.
“That all voters should ensure that they abide by the government protocols on safety at the polls and covid-19 prevention measures.
“That all pointers or actions that could lead to irregularities in the 18 June 2022 Ekiti Governorship election should be avoided to increase the credibility and fairness of the election.
“That Security personnel should be ready to arrest electoral offenders and document all evidence of infractions and violence for appropriate sanctions.
“That political parties be reminded of their commitment to the Peace Accord signed by the candidates for a peaceful election throughout the duration of the election and after.
“That the Ekiti State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should sustain INEC’s drive based on its INEC Gender Policy towards a gender responsive electoral process through the prompt collation of disaggregated data reflecting the number of female voters compared to male voters.
“We encourage INEC in line with its guidelines to ensure that there is unfettered access to all voters especially female voters with special needs.
“NWTF GEW calls on all registered voters in Ekiti State and women to turn out en-masse to participate in the election on Saturday 18 June 2022”.
The Gender and Election Watch (GEW) is an initiative of Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund (NWTF), aimed at observing and analyzing the participation of women compared to men in elections through election observation from a gender perspective.