CMV Demands 30 Percent of Parliament Seats to Be Given to Women

05 February 2007

The Contemporary Skills Centre appealed to all political parties that entered the Serbian Skupstina (the national parliament) after the January 21 Elections, to secure that women account for at least 30 percent in the new Parliament.

"In 2007, declared the Year of Equal Opportunity by the Council of Europe, we wish to remind the political parties that women are majority of registered voters in Serbia (52 percent) and it was the women that turned out at the polls en masse. This is the week that most parties will use to determine who will represent them in the Skupstina, and they should avoid the repeat of last Parliament, with only 10.8 percent women�, says CSC.

The organization reminds the public that Serbia still lacks a Law on Gender Equality and that, although the Constitution guarantees equality of women and men and obligates the state to implemented equal opportunities policies, such policies are not in place.

"For that reason, we demand from all political parties to demonstrate internal democratic principles and to allocate at least 30 percent of seats at their disposal to women, although they have no such legal obligation. A democratic society should not allow for a situation in which the true majority of citizens (women, undoubtedly, constitute a majority in Serbia) is represented by a minority in the highest institutions and offices of the state�, adds the Contemporary Skills Centre.