In the recently concluded presidential election in the Republic of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye of the Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) Party was announced as the winner, obtaining 54.28% of the votes. He defeated former Prime Minister Amadou Ba of the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY) Party, who received 35.79%. Among the 19 presidential candidates was one woman, Ms Anta Babacar Ngom, representing the Alternative for Citizen Relief Party. The election came following a turbulent election period marked by protests and arrests of demonstrators.

The incumbent President Azali Assoumani won the presidential elections in Comoros securing a fourth term in office. In the recently concluded poll, all candidates were male. While there was no woman vying for the presidency, there were positive developments in terms of women’s participation in elections. The Joint Election Observation Mission from the African Union (AU) and Eastern African Standby Force reported a notable mobilization of women as members of polling stations. Furthermore, in the island governor elections held simultaneously with the presidential polls, Ms Chamina Ben Mohamed was elected.

By:  Grace Marwa - Pattison and Vivian Nilsson - van Iperen

In 2022, nine African States held and concluded elections (presidential and/or parliamentary): Angola, Congo Rep., Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal and Somalia. Tunisia held the first round of the parliamentary elections in December 2022, and the second in January 2023. As the Tunisian elections concluded in 2023, they will not be included in this analysis. The elections in Chad, Guinea and Libya were also scheduled to be held in 2022 but were postponed.

In many of the nine countries, the 2022 elections resulted in positive gains concerning women’s representation and participation as the share of women elected to national parliaments increased, and there were notable gains in women’s political leadership.  

By: Rafaela Kieto and Vivian Nilsson – van Iperen

The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe held its legislative elections on 25 September 2022. The election was disputed between 10 political parties and a coalitionand 123,302 voters voted, of which 50.8% were women. Overall, the country experienced peaceful and orderly electoral campaigns and polls. This atmosphere is confirmed by the attitudes of the departing Prime Minister and party leader of MLSTP/PSD, Jorge Bom Jesus. Although he claimed numerous irregularities had marred the 2022 elections, Mr Bom Jesus said he would respect the results. He urged Sao Tomeans to remain calm while awaiting the validation of the results by the Constitutional Court. 

Our aim with the monitoring of elections and political participation of women in Africa is to provide a deeper analysis, in the form of briefing papers that will incorporate primary sources: the views and voices of parties and voters on the ground. Through a table with statistical data, we will be specifically looking at the number of women (i) registered to vote, (ii) running as candidates, (iii) who are elected following the elections. Our analysis will also include an article on the gender specificities of the country where the election is taking place. We will be looking at the situation of women prior to the elections as well as the way that the elections impact the lives of women.

While the early 20th century saw queens ruling various African countries, notably Ethiopia and Swaziland, the early 1990s saw women appearing on the African political scene, notably in Liberia, Burundi and Rwanda with female presidents and prime ministers. We now hope that the second decade of this millennium will see the rise of true female political participation sweep through Africa, with an increased number of women taking part in the polls, being elected as candidates and playing a key role in shaping their own country’s future.

Objectives:

The  objective is to  provide an easy to use tool to follow the role of women in elections across Africa by covering the position of female candidates before and after the elections have taken place.The accessibility of current and reliable data on women’s political participation, access to leadership is even more difficult to find and compile. Without this information it is difficult to construct an objective view, analyze and interpret the position of women with regards to political participation. By providing this data in an accessible, easy to read framework (ie table) MEWC hopes to provide an information gateway to researchers, policy makers, students other women’s organizations and local voters...

Our aim with the monitoring of elections and political participation of women in Africa is to provide a deeper analysis, in the form of briefing papers that will incorporate primary sources: the views and voices of parties and voters on the ground. Through a table with statistical data, we will be specifically looking at the number of women (i) registered to vote, (ii) running as candidates, (iii) who are elected following the elections. Our analysis will also include an article on the gender specificities of the country where the election is taking place. We will be looking at the situation of women prior to the elections as well as the way that the elections impact the lives of women.

While the early 20th century saw queens ruling various African countries, notably Ethiopia and Swaziland, the early 1990s saw women appearing on the African political scene, notably in Liberia, Burundi and Rwanda with female presidents and prime ministers. We now hope that the second decade of this millennium will see the rise of true female political participation sweep through Africa, with an increased number of women taking part in the polls, being elected as candidates and playing a key role in shaping their own country’s future.

Objectives:

The  objective is to  provide an easy to use tool to follow the role of women in elections across Africa by covering the position of female candidates before and after the elections have taken place.The accessibility of current and reliable data on women’s political participation, access to leadership is even more difficult to find and compile. Without this information it is difficult to construct an objective view, analyze and interpret the position of women with regards to political participation. By providing this data in an accessible, easy to read framework (ie table) MEWC hopes to provide an information gateway to researchers, policy makers, students other women’s organizations and local voters...

2021 Elections Monitoring

2022 Elections Monitoring

Our objective is to provide a user-friendly tool to track women's roles in African elections, focusing on female candidates' status before and after elections. Access to up-to-date and reliable data on women’s political involvement and leadership access is rare. Without such data, it's challenging to objectively view, analyze, and understand women's political positions. By offering this data in an accessible format (e.g., tables), MEWC aims to be an information resource for researchers, policymakers, students, women's organizations, and local voters.

Our goal in monitoring elections and women's political participation in Africa is to offer detailed analysis through briefing papers. We'll present statistical data on women's engagement in politics, specifically looking at (i) registered female voters, (ii) women running as candidates, and (iii) women elected post-election. This analysis will also cover gender dynamics in the election's country, examining women's conditions before and how the elections affect women's lives.

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