Cynthia Mbamalu is a human rights and women’s rights advocate with 19 years of experience advancing democracy, political inclusion, legislative reform, and electoral integrity across Africa. A lawyer with an LLM in Comparative Constitutional Law from Central European University, she is Co-founder and Director of Programs at Yiaga Africa, where she leads initiatives focused on democratic governance, gender equality, and electoral accountability.

Cynthia is a founding leader of the Not Too Young To Run movement, which successfully advocated for constitutional reforms that lowered the age requirements for running for political office in Nigeria. She also leads #WatchingTheVote, a data-driven, citizen-led initiative that promotes electoral transparency, and has participated in election observation missions across Africa and the United States.

A certified community organiser and mentor to emerging civic leaders, Cynthia is also the host of The UnAmplified, a podcast exploring democracy, human rights, and development in Africa. She currently serves on the Board of Amnesty International Nigeria.

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