An International Association of Women in Electoral Management will be created in Moldova to mobilize the electoral administration bodies of the member states and set and fulfill the real commitments in the area of gender equality. The Association will also promote equal chances for women and men as regards participation in the decision-making process. The high-level meeting for founding the Association was held in Chisinau on June 7, IPN reports.

According to the Central Election Commission, the event brought together electoral functionaries, international electoral and gender experts, representatives of the central public authorities and embassies working in Moldova and of civil society.

The Commission’s chairman Iurie Ciocan said in the event that the goal of this Association is to safeguard the interests of all the women working for national electoral bodies all over the world. “The goal of this association is to promote gender policies in all the electoral bodies of all levels and to encourage the participation of women in the political life,” he stated.

The creation of the International Association of Women in Electoral Management was initiated last September by the Central Election Commission and the Center for Continuous Electoral Training of Moldova with support from the UN Program “Women in Politics” and the UNDP Program “Improving the Quality of Democracy in Moldova through Parliamentary and Electoral Support”, which is supported financially by the Government of Sweden and the Government of Norway.