‎Groups Deploy 226 Observers, Launch Gender Situation Room for Anambra Poll

By Ukpa Ewa
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‎ElectHER has deployed 226 observers across Anambra State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, as it jointly launched the Gender Situation Room (GSR) with the Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund (NWTF) to ensure gender-responsive monitoring of the entire electoral process.
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‎Supported by the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Programme, the initiative is designed to provide comprehensive observation before, during, and after the election, focusing on transparency, inclusivity, and the protection of women’s participation in politics.
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‎Chief Executive Officer of ElectHER, Ibijoke Faborode, who unveiled the Situation Room in Awka, said the centre would operate as a joint data hub, leveraging digital tools such as Hernalytics and the Gender and Election Watch (GEW) App for real-time data collection, analysis, and rapid response.
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‎According to her, ElectHER will deploy 226 observers, including 120 field monitors and six collation observers, across the 21 local government areas to generate gender-disaggregated data that would enhance transparency and inclusivity in the electoral process.
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‎Presenting findings from ElectHER’s pre-election assessment, Faborode said a survey of 603 women across the state revealed that 92.8 per cent had collected their Permanent Voter Cards, while 82.8 per cent expressed readiness to vote. However, she noted that insecurity, unemployment, and fear of violence remained major deterrents, with 39.7 per cent expressing distrust in the process.
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‎She added that ElectHER’s preliminary security review identified 14 high-risk, five moderate-risk, and two low-risk local government areas. Faborode commended Anambra’s history of women’s political leadership and expressed confidence that the Gender Situation Room would enhance accountability and strengthen gender inclusion in the state’s democratic process.
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‎In the same hands, the Programme Lead of Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Vaneza Udegbe Gregory, said her organisation would complement the effort with 100 stationary observers under its Gender and Election Watch initiative. She explained that the observers were randomly selected to ensure balanced community representation and would transmit reports directly to a central Situation Room in Awka, staffed by experts from media, academia, and civil society.
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‎Gregory said the intervention seeks to promote credible, peaceful, and inclusive elections where all eligible electorate can participate freely irrespective of gender social stratification. She identified low representation of women on candidate lists, gender stereotypes, and online harassment of female aspirants as key challenges requiring stronger policy action and enforcement.