Elections

Diversity advocates welcome new additions but say there is still a long way to go before parliament reflects Australian society

Australia’s new parliament looks set to be the most diverse, but there’s still a long way to go, diversity advocates say.

For the first time, both Northern Territory Senate spots will be held by Indigenous women – Labor’s Malarndirri McCarthy was re-elected and would be joined by the Country Liberal’s Jacinta Price.

The result announcement of elections held on May 13 have revealed two women candidates as the winners of mayoral elections in two local levels of Rautahat district. 

Reena Kumari Shah and Kaushalaya Devi will hold office as mayors in Maulapur and Ishnath municiaplities in Rautahat. 

Within the framework of cooperation between International IDEA and the Francophone network for competencies in elections (Réseau des compétences électorales francophone, RECEF), a report was published (in French) on “Equality between women and men within EMBs and in electoral processes: challenges and courses of action for the EMBs of RECEF”.

The Minister of Interior, Bassam Al-Mawlawi, officially announced the results of the parliamentary elections in which 1,043 candidates competed for seats of power.

Women’s participation was remarkable this time, with an initial number of 155, making up nearly 15% of the sum of contestants. However, 113 of them remained in the race till the end.

Centrist politician Elisabeth Borne was appointed France’s new prime minister on Monday, becoming the second woman to hold the post in the country.

Borne, 61, who was labour minister in the previous government, succeeds Jean Castex, who resigned earlier in the day.