Are quotas for women in politics a good idea?
The Anambra North Senatorial election is one of the few Senate elections in 2023 where there is a female incumbent—Stella Oduah of the PDP. It is also one of the few where there are more female (5) than male candidates (4) on the ballot. APGA has Ebele Obiano, the wife of Willie Obiano, the immediate past governor of Anambra as their candidate. The APC have Ifeyinwa Anazonwu, while the ADC and NRM have female candidates as well. Each state has three senators, while the Federal Capital Territory has one.
Key takeaways
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Low representation of women in Nigerian politics is a long running trend that is set to continue in 2023
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A combination of social, economic and political factors have prevented Nigerian women from increasing representation
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Many countries in Africa and worldwide have adopted quotas to mainstream female political participation, with significant success.
Anambra is also something of a trailblazer at state assembly level. Of the eight times a woman has been elected speaker of a state house of assembly since 1999, three of those occasions have happened in Anambra.
No country for women (in politics)
The example above is not the case across
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