DnV: Election lists must contain 50% women 50% men

The Coalition of NGOs for Election Monitoring “Democracy in Action ( DnV)” has started preparations for monitoring the election process for early parliamentary elections for the Kosovo Assembly, made known through a media communique.

DnV will also closely observe the activities of the Central Election Commission (KQZ), confirming its commitment to ensuring a literal organisation and management of the election process.

According to DnV, the first issue, which requires immediate attention from political subjects, is the nomination of members of the Municipal Election Commissions (KKZ), respecting the principle of gender equality.

Data from past parliamentary elections shows that political parties have nominated only 25 women (or about 9%) from 263 members of the KKZ, at over 40% of municipalities have had no women forming KKZs, while only four out of 38 KKZ have been led by women.

DnV calls on political subjects that their promises of involvement of women in the election process can be achieved only with concrete actions, and that guaranteeing equal gender representation during the nomination of KKZ members -- the process that has begun today and ends on August 31st and based on the Law on Gender Equality and the country's own Constitution.

Moreover, in 2015, political subjects in the country have signed the declaration on increasing women's involvement in electoral processes, aimed at increasing women's representation in election management troops from the central level, municipal level and to the level of deployments of at least 40% and to achieving equal representation for both genders.

The important deadline in the election organisation process is the deadline for certificate of political subjects and their candidates. During this deadline, political subjects have the opportunity to ultimately ensure the implementation of the Law on Gender Equality by applying the 50% gender code to their electoral lists and to bring the basic principles of democracy into line.

“The equal participation of women in politics is one of the key elements of democracy that enables law and social development of society. The 30% gender quota for candidate lists has resulted in the biggest representation of women, without the need for gender cou. In the fifth legislature, 20 of the 39 women MPs did not need quotas to select”, DnV says.

In the VIth legislature of 38 deputies, 17 of them have entered the Assembly thanks to the couta, while 21 of them had won seating without charge. Also, in the latest legislature, seven of the 14 parliamentary commissions have been led by female deputies. So guaranteeing gender equality on election lists, according to DnV, except that respect for fundamental rights contributes to better and democratic governance.

The CEC has also defined the period of voter service and that of rejection and confirmation of the voter list, which will begin on September 3rd and end on September 14th, respectively, from September 12th to September 14th.

These deadlines enable citizens to identify dead persons who figure on the voters' list, and the same deadlines present themselves to responsible institutions. DnV calls on all citizens to use this timeline because it would affect the cleaning of voter lists and preventing eventual abuses.

The expression of free civic will in the election processes should be the primary goal of the CEC and political subjects.

Therefore, DnV seeks from the CEC and political subjects to devote particular importance and focus to informing and educating voters. This, especially in view of the large number of invalid ballots in past election cycles, which have resulted mainly as a result of non-adequate campaign education for voters in terms of voting.

In the 2017 parliamentary elections alone, over 70,000 invalid ballots have been recorded, of which only candidates in 48.26% of the cases have been marked, but the political subject has not been marked -- the indication of the lack of adequate information about the way of voting -- as well as problems with the design of the ballot. In this regard, we ask the CEC to consider recommendations by civil society organisations related to improving campaign information and education of voters, as well as to use the design of the civil society proposed by field experts, has been tested in public, and the same has been presented to the CEC, along with results of the test since last year.

DnV says it will continue to convey closely all processes related to election organisation and management, calling on all acts involved in the process to ensure the actual organisation of elections, applying democratic standards and respecting laws in force.