Albanian civil society organizations promote increased participation of women in elections
TIRANA, 9 February 2008 - Civil society experts today prepared a set of recommendations aiming to increase women's role in politics as candidates, leaders and voters. The proposals came at the end of a forum organized by the local organization Elections to Conduct Agency (ECA) and supported by the OSCE Presence in Albania, the Council of Europe and UNIFEM.
The recommendations will be presented to the President, political parties, institutions and the Assembly Speaker, with the goal of putting these recommendations on the working table of the Ad Hoc Committee on Electoral Reform.
"It is essential to get the attention of the lawmakers, especially of the Ad Hoc Committee, on the importance for equal opportunities of representation of women in political life," said Ambassador Robert Bosch, Head of the OSCE Presence. "It is also important to provide recommendations of legal provisions that could promote and protect women's political participation during the electoral legislation reform."
Participants at the forum debated root causes of the low level of women's participation in the Albanian election process and identified potential solutions. The event was part of a series of forums aimed at fostering dialogue between civil society and the Assembly on the ongoing Electoral Code reform process.
Delphine Freymann, Special Adviser of the Council of Europe in Albania, said: "Balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision making is needed for the development and construction of a Europe based on equality, social cohesion, solidarity and respect for human rights."
The results of a nation-wide sample survey on the public's perceptions about women's political participation as voters and as candidates for elected offices in Albania were presented during the forum.
According the UNIFEM Country Programme Manager, Christine Arab, the sample survey revealed the number of contradictions in people's perceptions about women's role in elections, and also the gradual changes in these perceptions.
"According to results, women are less active than men as voters with fewer women being registered on voter lists and with more women casting their votes based on their families' wishes," she said.
"Both women and men expressed uncertainty about women as politicians, and yet both thought that women politicians would be more trustworthy and supported the idea of special measures to encourage women's participation in political life. What is clear is that while traditional perceptions strongly impact women's ability to participate in politics, people's perceptions about women as leaders is changing, for the better."