Religious Affiliations, Political Literacy, and Voting Behaviour among Female Voters in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the substantial cultural differences between the Northern and Southern regions are argued to explain lower political literacy and the reliance on religious affiliations of candidates as the main determinants of voting among women. Despite a significant number of studies on the influence of religion in politics, data on how religious affiliation affects the political choice of female voters is quite scant. Consequently, this study conceptualizes religion, gender, and political outcomes (election outcome) in the Nigerian context and utilizes statistical analysis to compare women voters from both of Nigeria’s regions. Using survey data collected June-July 2022 from 2011 respondents in the North and 2204 from the South, we demonstrate there is a difference in the influence of religion on the voting choices of women voters in the North compared to the South. Such regional differences have severe adverse implications for the exploitation of women voters during elections in Nigeria.