Albanian NGOs Ask Political Parties To Set Quotas For Women

CRCA

27 March 2006

The Coalition for Women and Youth Participation in Politics and Women's political groups, with the support by the Group of Women Members of Parliament of Albania, submitted a petition to the Office of the President of the Republic Alfred Moisiu, Jozefina Topalli, the President of the Parliament, and the Leaders of Political Parties in Albania, expressing their concern and demanding greater representation of women in Albanian politics and decision-making processes.

The petition points out that, in spite of the fact that women comprise 51 percent of the population of Albania, there are only 10 women representatives in the Parliament of Albania, while there are no women Mayors in Albanian Municipalities and Communes. These facts place Albania as 114th country in the World, and the last one in Eastern Europe in terms of participation of women in politics and decision making.

The organizations that initiated the petition believe that the participation of women in politics can be guaranteed only the establishment of an institutional and political mechanism, which would guarantee a greater level of participation of women in political process. One of the mechanisms that have showed results in Western Europe and many Balkans countries is the setting up a quota system for the participation of women in politics and decision making process.

Therefore, the three organizations demanded in their petition that the Government set up a 30% quotas for participation of women as candidates and representatives in national and local elections in the ne Electoral Code currently discussed by the Parliament. In addition, the petition requests that 30% quotas are set for women participation in Municipal and Communal Councils, as well as the leadership bodies of all political parties in Albania.