Elections

Basanti Sabar, 30, is a third-time voter. But this time round, as the eastern Indian state of Odisha goes to the polls in simultaneous general and assembly elections, the former migrant worker will make a crucial shift in the way she votes.

History was made on Monday, 29th April 2024 when Two Women were sworn-in as democratically elected Executive Chairpersons of local government councils in Gombe for the first time.

The Two Women who were declared winners of their various LGAs during the Council elections held last Saturday, 27th April 2024, are, Hon Fatima Binta Bello, Shongom LGC, and Egla Idris, Billiri LGC, all of them members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Myriam Spiteri Debono, a notary and former parliamentary speaker, is set to become the 11th President of Malta on 4 April. 

Appointing the next president appeared an impossible task until a couple of weeks ago, as the appointment required a two-thirds majority in parliament instead of a simple majority, as in previous years. 

Women constituted only eight per cent of the total 2,823 candidates in the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections, with political activists saying it reflects a deeper issue of gender bias and that talk of women's empowerment rings hollow.

There were 135 women candidates in the first phase of the elections and 100 in the second phase, bringing the combined total for the first two phases to 235.

UN Women, on Wednesday tasked media practitioners and organisations to empower the female gender and promote its participation in politics.

They made the call at the 2024 UN Women Nigeria Media Forum on “Escalating Media Action for Women’s Empowerment” in Abuja.

Ms Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said the call was necessary to reverse the poor representation of women in both elective and appointed positions in the country.