Local Government

Finland's county council elections were the first regional or municipality elections in the history of the country in which women won the majority of seats. In total, female candidates snapped up 53 percent of county councillor spots in the elections.

Women dominated the polls to the greatest extent in the Western Uusimaa municipality, where they accounted for 68.4 percent of elected candidates. Women also won over 60 percent of seats in the municipalities of Vantaa, Kerava and Central Uusimaa.

Sounding bugle for the upcoming municipal polls in Delhi, the state election commission on Tuesday notified the wards that would be reserved for Scheduled Caste and women candidates in north, south and east municipal corporations.

According to the notification, 46 of the total of 272 wards in the three civic bodies are reserved for Scheduled Caste's candidates including women, while 114 general category sears have been kept for women candidates.

Political parties are all set for the upcoming elections in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a very important demographic with 403 assembly seats. It has also become important to see the women representation among the leaders and the voters in the elections in this biggest state of India.

Sharda Devi, the first woman state president of the ruling BJP in Manipur, wants the party to put up a sizeable number of women candidates for the Assembly elections

“There is 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies and panchayats. A similar principle should be followed while allotting tickets to aspirants for the Assembly election. However, women candidates must be competent,” Sharda Devi said over the phone from Imphal.

Women groups and Gender Focused Civil society organisation has called for more women participation in the forthcoming FCT area council election. According to the CSOs, women constitute half of the population in the country and form massive support during elections.

The Director Gender and Inclusivity Department INEC, Mrs. Blessing Obidegwu, gave the charge on Wednesday during a town hall meeting with the women groups and gender focused civil society organizations in Abuja.

South Asia Partnership (SAP) Pakistan and Aurat Foundation held a convention on women’s political participation in Pakistan on Saturday. The focus was on women in local government.

Several male aspirants of different political parties, who aimed to contest for the mayor’s post of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) in the upcoming election of the civic body, were disappointed as the state government on Wednesday proposed to reserve the prestigious post for women.