ElectHER & NWTF Launch Gender Situation Room Ahead of Anambra Polls, Reveal Key Pre-Election Insights
By Oguocha Chukwuebuka
As the November 8 Anambra governorship election approaches, stakeholders and election observation groups have intensified efforts to ensure a credible and inclusive electoral process. Among these initiatives is a joint press briefing held on November 7, 2025, by gender-focused organizations ElectHER and the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), unveiling their Gender Situation Room and presenting findings from their pre-election assessment.
The event, hosted at Radisson Blu Onyx Hotel, Awka, was themed “Unveiling the Gender Situation Room & Presentation of Pre-Assessment Findings.” It brought together key voices from both organizations, civil society, and the media, highlighting the importance of gender-responsive election monitoring in Anambra State.
In her opening remarks, ElectHER CEO Ibijoke Faborode emphasized the collaborative strength of ElectHER and NWTF in deploying a gender-sensitive observation framework. She noted that both organizations are leveraging their technological platforms—ElectHER’s Election Hub and NWTF’s Gender and Election Watchroom (GEW)—to monitor the electoral process. These platforms, Hernalytics and the GEW App, will enable real-time data collection, analysis, and visualization.
Faborode announced that the Gender Situation Room will deploy a total of 226 field observers across all 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Anambra State. A joint data center will be established to ensure coordinated observation, rapid reporting, and timely response throughout the election period.
Vaneza Udegbe Gregory, Program Lead at NWTF, elaborated on the organization’s field strategy. She stated that NWTF will deploy 100 trained stationary observers selected through a randomized sampling method to ensure representative coverage. These observers will report via the GEW App, allowing for real-time submission and verification of field data.
Zigwal Tagwal, Programme Lead for Democracy and Governance at ElectHER, shared that ElectHER will deploy 126 observers—120 field observers and 6 collation observers stationed across five LGA collation centers and the State Collation Center. He acknowledged the logistical challenge of covering over 5,000 polling units and explained that a stratified sampling approach was adopted to ensure demographic and geographic representation. All observers will collect gender-sensitive data using structured datasets, which will be processed through Hernalytics.
On the presentation of pre-election findings, Faborode stressed the critical role of data in democratic development. “Without credible data and consistent gender mainstreaming, democratic development is only half-achieved,” she said.
ElectHER’s six-month monitoring effort culminated in a final pre-assessment report covering September 3 to October 25, 2025. As part of its “To Vote or Not to Vote” analysis, the organization conducted a perception poll involving 603 women across all 21 LGAs. Key findings include:
- 92.8% of respondents confirmed ownership of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), closely aligning with INEC’s 98% collection rate.
- 9% reported challenges obtaining their PVCs.
- 82.8% expressed intent to vote, while 13.2% remained undecided and 4% planned to abstain.
- Top concerns were security (63.6%), unemployment (51.1%), and healthcare (43.7%).
- 65.3% cited fear of violence as a major deterrent, and 39.7% expressed distrust in the electoral process.
- Visibility of female candidates remains low—58.1% felt women in the race were not visible enough, yet 93% affirmed willingness to vote for a competent female candidate.
The Gender Situation Room, hosted under Component 5A of the EU-SDGN program, stands as a testament to the growing commitment to gender equity and data-driven governance in Nigeria’s electoral landscape.
As Anambra heads to the polls, the collaborative efforts of ElectHER and NWTF offer a promising model for inclusive and transparent elections—where every voice, especially those of women, counts.
