Election: Forum deploys observers, promises to defend women’s mandate

Women In Politics Forum (WIPF) says it has deployed 100 observers to 10 states and Federal Capital Territory that feature women candidates to monitor the elections on Saturday.

President, WIPF Ebere Ifendu, said this on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing a news conference on the general elections

Ifendu said the group would have loved to deploy overseers to all states but because of funds it concentrated on states that had female candidates.

According to her, WIPF as an accredited organisation is a non-partisan organisation that recognises the marginalisation of women in politics, decision-making and the importance of unity, regardless of Party affiliation, to give a voice to women in Leadership.

“Women In Politics Forum will be deploying 100 election observers in the 2023 general elections to Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Cross River, Kogi, Kaduna, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Sokoto, and the FCT.

“In the 2023 general elections, Nigerian women have experienced a further reduction in the number of aspirants and emerged candidates, this will further affect the number of women who will hold elective positions.

“For example, there are 15,331 candidates across all 18 political parties in Nigeria, and only 1,534 are females, which translates to about 10 per cent.

“This shows that the political participation of women in Nigeria is a national issue of concern, with a continuing record of underrepresentation in both elective and appointive positions.”

Ifendu said that women had suffered from marginalisation, discrimination, underrepresentation and also violence against women in politics at the national, state and local government levels.

She said that WIPF observation showed that electoral violence was one of the reasons most women did not participate in governance, especially elections; as candidates and electorate on election day.

She said that violence against women had increased significantly, especially in politics during this electioneering cycle.

According to her, women have experienced different forms of violence ranging from sexual harassment, bullying, blackmail and even murder.

“It is the desire of every citizen to feel safe enough to participate in an election both as a candidate and an electorate.

“Therefore, as the 2023 General Election will happen in less than 72 hours, we call on all security agencies to prioritize the protection of lives and properties.

“Observing the trend of the campaigns, it is assumed that there will be a huge voter turnout, however, there is also the assumption of election violence and post-election violence.”

Ifendu said WIPF called on all eligible voters to come out, vote peacefully and protect their votes.

She called on security agencies to prioritise the protection of lives and properties and not to use their position to intimidate the electorate but use the position to support electorates to have a seamless election day experience.

Ifendu called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strictly adhere to the provisions contained in the electoral act for a free, fair and credible 2023 general elections.

She also urged INEC to ensure that “ad-hoc staff are treated fairly, so as to carry out their role effectively and efficiently.”

Ifendu called on observers to obey the guidelines and provisions for election observation and urged political parties to ensure that all their agents on election day obey the guidelines and provisions.

“On election day, and information and reports that will provoke the populace to violence, chaos and conflict should be avoided completely.

“We are glad to announce that we have also reached out in partnership to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) with the recent launch of the N-Alerts app to ensure safety of Nigerians at the 2023 polls.

“We urge all Civil Society Organisations deploying observers to make use of the N-Alerts as part of the measures to combat violence against women in the forthcoming elections,” she said.

According to her, the N-Alerts application is available on the play store and can be downloaded easily.

“Incidences of electoral violence can then be reported immediately from the observer’s location to the NSCDC and will be acted upon swiftly once the command in charge receives the signal for action,” she said.