Quotas

The DA will not accept amendments to the Electoral Act to provide for party gender quotas. This would be as constitutionally problematic as basing representation in Parliament on race or any other demographic variable.

The DA thoroughly rejects the concept of demographic representivity, which was the animating idea of apartheid. In contrast, our constitutional democracy enjoins us all to protect each other's rights. You don't need to look the same as someone to be represented by them in Parliament.

Women and minority clans will not have the opportunity to access political seats through nomination.

Members of Parliament's lower house of representative have voted against allocating women and members of minority clans parliamentary and local council seats through a quota system.

Read more at Somaliland Sun, published 1 September 2012.

WOMEN should make up 40 per cent of the new parliament and this should be enshrined in the new constitution.

Ba resident Merewai Dolewale told the Constitution Commission earlier this week that the size of the parliament should also be reduced.

"The last parliament had 71 members and I believe this can be reduced to 50 when you look at the size of the country and the population," she said.

"And I also believe that more women should be encouraged to participate."

Under the Copac draft constitution, which is set to be taken to a referendum in October, women MPs would be entitled to 60 uncontested seats allocated on a proportional representation basis in addition to other seats guaranteed under the 50-50 gender parity.

he struggle for women's empowerment, is not a new battle.  This is what Home Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told dignitaries last night's Women's Parliament gala dinner.

She said women in Parliament play a special role in making sure government implements policy promoting gender equality. Dlamini-Zuma bemoaned the lack of gender transformation, especially in the work-force. 

THE women of Vitogo Village and surrounding settlements have called on the Constitution Commission to ensure there is equal representation of women and men in a new parliament.

Making submissions on behalf of the women of Vitogo yesterday, Adi Paulini Delai suggested that 50 per cent of the parliamentarians be women.

Adi Paulini said there needed to be a law that also allow women to be represented at all provincial and district councils and government departments.

The government might be finding it difficult to garner support for reserving 33% seat for women in Parliament but it seems it is doing its bit to empower women in municipalities.

The Union cabinet is likely to clear a proposal on Tuesday reserving 50% of the elected seats for women in urban local bodies (ULBs) across the country. At present, only one-third of the seats in the local bodies are reserved for women. 

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa and Chhattisgarh have already reserved 50% seats in their ULBs for women.

Somalia has recently selected its parliament on Somali soil for the first time since the civil war of the late 1980s. This is a significant achievement since regional power brokers such as Ethiopia and Kenya, with the financial and logistical backing of the European Union, the United States and the United Nations, concocted Somali governments in neighbouring countries.