Gender Quotas Database
Niger
Western Africa
Single / Lower House
Assemblée nationale / National Assembly
| Total seats | 171 |
| Total women | 51 |
| Percentage of women | 30% |
| Election year | 2020 |
| Electoral system | List PR |
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Electoral law |
During legislative or local elections, the lists presented by political parties, group of political parties or group of independent candidates must include candidates of both sexes, so as to obtain during the proclamation of the final results, a proportion greater than or equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the elected candidates of one or the other sex. The nomination of candidates is made in compliance with the quota of twenty-five percent (25%) quota set by law. (Article 2 - Decree on establishing Quota (670/2020)). |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Law establishing a quota system for elected offices |
The Constitutional Court rejects the candidate lists that do not comply with the gender quota requirements, and asks parties to correct them. |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law |
At the announcement of final results, the proportion of elected candidates of either sex should be at least 25%.”.Each candidate has an alternate listed under the designation so that quota chain is not broken (Article 2). |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Electoral law |
During legislative or local elections, the lists presented by political parties, group of political parties or group of independent candidates must include candidates of both sexes, so as to obtain during the proclamation of the final results, a proportion greater than or equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the elected candidates of one or the other sex. The nomination of candidates is made in compliance with the quota of twenty-five percent (25%) quota set by law. (Article 2 - Decree on establishing Quota (670/2020)). |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Quota law |
The Constitutional Court rejects the candidate lists that do not comply with the gender quota requirements and requests parties to correct them. |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official Name | Details, Quota provisions |
|---|---|---|
| No data available. | ||
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional information
The 10 per cent quota is applied to the total number of elected members on each list. If a political party or group of candidates obtains at least three seats in a constituency, it must adjust the number of its elected members in order to fulfil the 10 per cent quota requirement. In the 2011 legislative elections, political parties did the necessary adjustments through an internal process, before submitting to the Constitutional Council their final lists of elected candidates (European Union Electoral Observation Mission 2011: 21). In relation to public funding for political parties, the Ordinance on the Charter of Political Parties provides that the public funding of political parties is set at 0.30 per cent of annual tax revenues of the state. A total of 10 per cent of this fund is distributed among parties in proportion to the number of women elected by the quota at all levels.
In addition, according to the quota law, no less than 25 per cent of nominations for high-ranking government posts shall be given to persons of either sex.
The percentage of women is calculated from the current number of seats occupied in the parliament. The National Assembly has 171 statutory seats.
"Rising from a low of just 1.2 per cent in 1996 and 14.6 per cent in the previous election, Niger’s level of women’s representation in the single-chamber parliament jumped 11 points to reach 25.9 per cent in 2020. The elections were held despite threats of Jihadi violence in many parts of the country. The growth in Niger is attributed to the reform of the gender quota in 2019, which increased the quota target from 10 per cent for elected positions and 15 per cent for nominated offices, to 25 and 30 per cent, respectively" (IPU, 2021).
Sources
Legal Sources:
- Constitution of Niger (suspended) - Link
- Electoral Law (64/2017) - Link
- Political Party Legislation (amended through 2019) - Link
- Parity Law (pages 20-21) - Link
- Decree on establishing Quota (670/2020) - Link
OTHER SOURCES:
- Parliament of Niger - Link
- National Action Plan for Women (2020-2024) - Link
- WAGIC [Women’s Forum, Project for the promotion of women’s political participation], ‘Document de plaidoyer présenté par le projet alternative WAGIC au forum des femmes' [Advocacy document presented by the WAGIC Project and the Alternative forum for women]
- European Union Election Observation Mission, ‘Niger: Rapport Final, Élections Législatives et Présidentielle, 31 janvier–12 mars 2011’ [Final report on the Niger legislative and presidential elections 31 January–12 March 2011]
- Inter-Parliamentary Union [IPU] Parline - Niger Country Profile
- Inter-Parlamentary Union. (2021). Women in Parliament in 2020 The Year in Review.
- Ministère de la Promotion de la Femme et de la Protection de l'Enfant, (2020), Argumentaire en vue de rehausser les taux relatifs a la loin N2000-008 instituant un système de quota dans les fonctions electives, au governement et dans l'administration de l'etat
- LuxDev, (2019), L’égalité de genre au Niger
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Niger on iKNOW Politics
- Arendt, C. (2018). From Critical Mass to Critical Leaders: Unpacking the Political Conditions behind Gender Quotas in Africa. Politics & Gender, 14(3), 295-322. doi:10.1017/S1743923X17000502
- Stakeholder Democracy Network [SDN]. (2020). Women's political participation and representation in the Niger Delta.
- Yoon, M. Y. 2001. ‘Democratization and Women's Legislative Representation in Sub-Saharan Africa’, Democratization. Vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 169-190.
- Niger Parliament website, http://www.assemblee.ne/
- Trans-Saharan Elections Project [TSEP]. (n.d.). Gender quotas and representation: Niger. [University of Florida]
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