Despite the efforts made during the last few years to promote women in politics and to ensure bigger chances of entering Parliament, things remain stagnant. In a news conference at IPN, Alina Andronache, of the Partnership for Development Center, in the presentation of the first report on the monitoring of elections from the perspective of inclusiveness, said the mixed electoral system reduces the chances of female candidates, discourages them and disadvantages them.
According to Alina Andronache, the electoral contenders registered until now respected the Election Code provisions concerning the minimum women’s representation quota of 40%. The average figure of women’s representation on the lists of candidates is 41.5%. At first sight, this mean that the number of female candidates is by 10% higher than at the presidential elections. But when the place on the list is analyzed, it is seen that only 18% of the women are on the first ten positions.
The expert reminded that the parties can make changes in the lists of candidates 14 days before the elections at the latest. She called on these to promote the principle of equality of chances and to place the female candidates on eligible places. “Or I don’t think we will have a larger number of women in the future legislatures,” stated Alina Andronache.
Secretary general of the National Youth Council Ana Îndoitu recommended the parties to promote the young people based on meritocracy principles, with emphasis on the young people from villages. Of the 294 candidates of the first six electoral contenders, only 59 are young. A number of 47 candidates are from urban areas and only 12 are from rural areas. Only three young people were placed on the first 15 positions and have chances of entering Parliament.
Ion Duminică, consultant at East Europe Foundation, spoke about the inclusion of persons of Roma ethnicity in society, noting this can be achieved by involving the Roma in politics. The recommendation to the electoral contenders is not only to include Romany people in the lists of candidates, but to also put them on eligible positions.
Andrei Brighidin, of East Europe Foundation, said that to ensure the accessibility of persons with disabilities to information about the electoral platforms, the electoral competitors should adjust their websites, while the authorities should guarantee the physical accessibility of all the polling places and outfit them with the equipment needed to authentically realize the right to vote of persons with disabilities.
The monitoring report “How inclusive elections of 2019 are?!” was compiled by East Europe Foundation, the Partnership for Development Center and the Union “Țărnă Rom”. The monitoring is held as part of the project “Civil society advocacy for inclusive and fair elections in Moldova, compliant with EU and OSCE/ODIHR recommendations and human rights commitments” that is implemented by East Europe Foundation in partnership with the Partnership for Development Center, Piligrim Demo and the Union “Țărnă Rom” during January 2018 - June 2020 and is financed by the EU and co-financed by the Government of Sweden.
