GENDER AND ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MALE AND FEMALE VOTER TURNOUT IN NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

An election is a mechanism for selecting a leader or representative for an office by democratic means. Citizens choose candidates to serve as their representatives and occupy certain political positions in contemporary democracies. High voter turnout rates are often indicative of a functioning democracy, whilst low turnout rates are typically associated with voter apathy and mistrust of the political system. This aimed to analyse gender and electoral participation: a comparative study of male and female voter turnout in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. This paper adopted a literature review approach by examining on male and female voter turnout in Nasarawa State. Journal articles, theses, books and newspapers that are related to the theme of the paper were used. The study used INEC reports of the 2015, 2019 and 2023 elections in Nasarawa. The total number of registered voters (male and female) and turned-out voters (male and female voters) were compared. The findings show there was a huge gap between the male and female voters in the 2019 and 2023 elections in Nasarawa State. The findings suggest that females are not fully participating in the election. The factors that contributed to low voter turnout are socio-cultural, ethno-religious, voters’ education, insecurity, and corruption, among others. Literature demonstrates that there are implications of low voter turnout. These include the absence of consolidated democracy, imposed leadership, and illegitimate government. Continuing to educate the voters, curbing political violence, and exposing the voters to the process of election can assist improve the low voter participation in Nasarawa State.