Civil society considers the politicians will be penalized harshly if Parliament does not pass the bill that institutes a quota of female representation in elections. In a news conference at IPN, representatives of an initiative group of NGOs said that if the parties do not fulfill the made promises, they will show they do not act in good faith.
Secretary of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections Nicolae Panfil said civil society intuits that the bill is not passed owing to discussions held behind the scenes in Parliament. “We think there is disagreement among the MPs in Parliament, but we hope this bill will be adopted in the current parliamentary session,” he stated.
The representatives of civil society suggest immediately passing it as the election campaign starts in several days and it’s known that the parties will be actively involved in the campaign rather than in parliamentary work.
“This bill should oblige the parties to take these quotas into account when compiling the lists of candidates. It’s important to adopt the bill now as the four years of government will depend on the coming elections,” said Nicolae Panfil.
The bill providing for the institution of a minimum quota of female representation in elections of 30% was adopted in the first reading in the spring-summer session.
Civil society formulated the suggestion to hasten the adoption of the bill within the campaign “Countdown to the fulfillment of the Government’s promises: Returning to the seven priorities” that was launched by the National Participation Council, the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, the Anticorruption Alliance, and the Civic Initiative for Integrity in the Public Service.
