Elections

Four Kuwaitis have become the first women elected to their nation's parliament, a resounding victory in a conservative Persian Gulf country where the legislature has been men-only for almost half a century.
Women gained the right to vote and run for office in 2005 but failed in two previous elections to win seats in the 50-member parliament. Official results from Saturday's vote were read out by judges on state-owned TV on Sunday.To read the full article please visit the Yahoo News website.

Iraq's next general election will be held on Jan. 30, the deputy parliament speaker said Monday.

Grybauskaite declared victory on being elected the Baltic nation's first female president as early results came in on Sunday.
To read the full article please visit the Al Jazeera website.

Saudi Arabia has delayed municipal elections in which women were hoping to take part for the first time, for two years, according to state media.
To read the full article please visit the Al Jazeera site.

The election commission of the Interior Ministry on Wednesday confirmed the eligibility of four nominees for the next presidential elections, slated for June 12.
To read the full article please visit the Al Bawaba website.

Sohaila Zain el-Abideen, a Saudi women's rights activist, said that whatever was behind the government's announcement she believes women will become participants in the country's politics.
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AMMAN: Nancy Bakir, the Jordanian Minister of Public Sector Reform, said yesterday that the Arab World should follow the example of Kuwait and study the Gulf state's democratic accomplishments and parliamentary elections.
To read the full article please visit the Kuwait Times website.

The Democratic Party of Japan has promoted women and younger candidates who have not risen through traditional routes to power.The display of hyperactivity was deliberate, and not just because Ms. Kushibuchi is anxious to win every last vote she can. Her party, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), is "projecting a new image compared to the old politics," she says, "an image of energy."
To read the complete article please visit The Christian Science Monitor website.

Obligatory quotas for the number of women put forward for selection as a parliamentary candidate by each political party have been proposed. The conference on diversity issues was commissioned by the prime minister. It wants the parties either to improve the representation of women at the 2010 general election, or face mandatory quotas for the next one.
To read more please visit BBC NEWS