Elections

Just over one-third of the members in Germany's newly elected parliament are women. That's troubling — and not at all representative of our society, DW's Melina Grundmann writes.

A chart showing the proportion of women in each party in Germany's new parliament, the Bundestag, has been doing the rounds of various media outlets over the past few days.

The numbers are bleak. Just 255, or 34.7%, of the members of the new parliament are female — out of a total of 735 deputies in the increasingly bloated chamber. While that's a slight improvement on the makeup of the previous Bundestag, I'm disappointed — to say the least.

The Greens lead the way, with 58%. The neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), along with the center-right bloc made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), barely scratch the 25% mark, respectively. Don't even get me started on the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Click here to read the full article published by DW on 2 October 2021.

Initial election result gave women 33 seats, but total was later revised down to 30.

Iceland briefly celebrated electing a female-majority parliament on Sunday, before a recount produced a result just short of the landmark for gender parity in the north Atlantic island nation.

The initial vote count gave female candidates 33 seats in Iceland’s 63-seat parliament, the Althing, in an election in which centrist parties made the biggest gains. The result would have made Iceland the first country in Europe to have more women than men in parliament.

Hours later, a recount in western Iceland changed the outcome, leaving female candidates with 30 seats, a tally previously reached at an election in 2016. However, almost 48% of the total is still the highest percentage of female lawmakers in Europe.

Only a handful of countries, none of them in Europe, have a majority of female lawmakers. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Rwanda leads the world, with women making up 61% of its chamber of deputies, with Cuba, Nicaragua and Mexico at or just over the 50% mark. Worldwide, the organisation said just over a quarter of legislators are women.

Click here to read the full article published by The Guardian on 26 September 2021.

Male candidates were elected in all 30 of the seats up for grabs on the Shura Council, despite 26 women running in the polls.

None of the 26 women who stood in Qatar's first ever legislative elections have been chosen by voters.

Around 63.5% of voters turned out to pick 30 members of the 45-seat advisory Shura Council, according to the internal ministry.

But out of 30 positions, no women were selected - despite 26 running amid the 233 candidates standing across 30 districts.

The ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, will appoint the remaining 15 members of the body, which has the power to approve some limited state policies.

Aisha Hamam al-Jasim, a nursing manager who ran in Doha's Markhiya district, urged women to start "voicing what they believe in" and vote for female candidates in the future.

"To have all men is not the vision of Qatar," she said.

Click here to read the full article published by Sky News on 3 October 2021.

With the election campaign for the Shura Council is nearing its end, the women candidates seem very confident to secure seats as since the beginning of election campaign only two women have withdrawn, compared to the withdrawal of 53 male candidates.

After the withdrawal of these candidates, 229 candidates including 26 women are now vying for 30 seats from as many constituencies. Most of the women candidates — five— are in the Constituency No. 22.

Getting elected to the Shura Council is a great opportunity for Qatari women to propose amendments in some laws and to enact laws that protect women’s rights more and give them increased partnership in decision-making.

“It is an opportunity for women to be represented in legislative bodies.  Qatari women entered the elections with great conviction and readiness that they want to serve society as a whole and women in particular,” said Al Maha Jassim Al Majed, candidate of Constituency No 11.

Click here to read the full article published by The Peninsula on 27 September 2021.

The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, visited Somalia on Sunday, to express her solidarity with Somali women’s calls for full and equal participation in political life, and the support of the international community for timely, inclusive, peaceful and credible elections.

In her various meetings in the capital, Mogadishu, Ms. Mohammed highlighted the country’s parliamentary elections as an opportunity to build on the progress made in women’s political participation.

She also emphasized that women’s full inclusion in all sectors of society would contribute to greater resilience, peace, and stability in the Horn of Africa country.

‘The peace dividend will not happen without women’

Currently, Somalia is holding elections for its Upper House, and is preparing for elections for its Lower House, known as the House of the People. The UN and Somalia’s other international partners have been heavily engaged in supporting national efforts to advance the poll, frequently voicing support for greater inclusion of women in the country’s political arena and urging leaders to safeguard a 30 per cent minimum quota. 

Click here to read the full article published by the UN on 12 September 2021.

BAGHDAD, Sept 16 (Reuters) - A powerful mix of insecurity and traditional prejudice against more liberal female politicians put Awatef Rasheed off running for parliament when she returned to Iraq in 2014 after years abroad.

Seven years later, with Iraq less unstable, Rasheed has decided to contest a Oct. 10 election for the assembly, even if abuse and intimidation of women would-be lawmakers persist.

Today, she is one of the 951 women, representing close to 30% of the total number of candidates, running for election to the country's 329-seat Council of Representatives.

Passing a new domestic violence law, and more representation for women in the executive branch of government, are among the goals of some of the would-be female lawmakers.

For Iraq's women politicians, elections can be an excruciating experience.

Rasheed scrolled through her smartphone and looked at pictures of one of her campaign banners that had been ripped up, with the tear precisely crossing the image of her face.

Click here to read the full article published by Reuters on 16 September 2021.