Parliament voted in favor of introducing a quota of women’s representation in the lists of election candidates. Thus, the women will represent at lets 30% of the candidates in the parliamentary and local elections. The bill was passed in the first reading, IPN reports.

Bill author, Deputy Speaker Liliana Palihovici said that a democratic system of a high quality is directly proportional to the level of people’s representation in the decision-making bodies. “A system based on political competition, dominated by gender inequality, cannot be considered open and fair,” he stated.

Liliana Palihovici also said that though the women’s representation rate in the elective bodies increased in Moldova, it remains lower than the average in the EU member states. Women represent 51.9% of Moldova’s population. Over 51.1% of the graduates of education institutions are women, while in Parliament they represent slightly over 18% and in the local public authorities - about 21%. This is underrepresentation of women’s interests in the decision-making bodies of the state.

This week and earlier, civil society made numerous calls to the political class, asking introducing a quota of women’s representation in the lists of election candidates. The parliamentary elections will take place on November 30.