Krasniqi formalises the PDK's decision: Equal gender representation, 50/50 on all decision-making levels

In extending the vision which will represent PDK on the road ahead, Chairman Krasniqi has said that 50 with 50 %s is the formula, mission and purpose of PDK that they will never stop.

Our path as the PDK is not complete, nor can it be successful without women leading this path in each dimension and in each direction. Therefore, I have decided that the Democratic Party of Kosovo will be an open house, without doors and no walls for women and girls who want commitment and realisation in politics. 50 %s with 50 %s is our formula, it's our mission and it's our goal that we will never stop”, Chairman Krasniqi said.

Leader of The PDK has indicated that since the upcoming PDK election Convention, it will propose statuteic changes that will enable the implementation of this vision in practice.

Among other things, he has confirmed that they will make it a binding rate for all PDK structures, at any level of organisation, to have equal divisions of leadership positions, 50/50, including positions of mayors, vice heads and secretaries.

“In local elections, where the candidate for the mayor is of one gender, the host of the Communist Assembly list must be of the opposite sex. We will aim for our candidate lists to be in line with the Law on Gender Equality and not with the quota of 30 %, which has already been witnessed as past. The PDK-led government in the future will reflect full gender equality. This will become the norm even for local governments, where we have already given evidence and examples in several municipalities of”, Krasniqi has said.

Chairman Krasniqi has pledged that the PDK will achieve equal gender representation, 50 %s by 50 %s by 2025, but will not wait until then to realise that goal.

We will not wait three years to realize this noble goal then all at once, but we will start right now with steps that raise not only the percentage of representation as a number but also the quality and meritocracy. I repeat, The PDK should be an open house for all women and girls who want a better Kosovo for themselves, for their families and for society at large”, the mayor has said PDK.

Finally, the leader of The PDK has said the time has passed when the party has had to have a separate organisation of women to approach women voters. According to him, today, the Democratic Woman of Kosovo cannot remain in its own and rampant shell, but must expand its organisation, its potential and its importance, to become not only an integral organic part of the party, but to create the synergy needed for the meritorial and equal representation of women in leadership and decisionmaking.

This is not just my will. First of all, it's the will of women inside PDK. It's time to make the crossing that's required for a while now. And it's up to us to do it first, to set our own inner example tomorrow even in government, and in society”, Krasniqi said.

Democratic Party of Kosovo Vice President Vlora Citaku has said the PDK has always known to have courage for major decisions, such as today's.

“The PDK has had courage. The PDK has had and has the courage to build history and design the future. There is no table for men in PDK and a women's table. And, we, just together, at a table, can take right decisions which will lead Kosovo into the new century”, Deputy Mayor Vlora Citaku has said.

NDI Director Nancy Soderberg has welcomed the PDK's new vision, saying gender equality in decision-making is extremely important. She said that with this decision, The PDK is setting a new standard for all of Kosovo.

Kosovo has been lacking in women's involvement in government. Simply put, the success of Kosovo's democracy depends on women's participation. So this convention is very important. The involvement of women in politics, to make each citizen sound, is very important. Women and husbands must do more to empower their wives. It should be, not 30 percent, not 40 percent, but 50 percent. So, your motto, <x1-Basket! 50 with 50” is so important because you are setting a new standard for all in Kosovo”, Soderberg said.

The PDK, in advance, has started implementing this vision. In local elections, The PDK had the largest number of candidates for mayors, list carriers and candidates for municipal assemblies, being first in gender representation. After the elections, with the insistence of Chairman Krasniqi, The PDK has found even greater space.

Of the 9 municipal municipalities running the PDK, 5 are headed by women. The PDK has named two deputy mayors in two large municipalities, including the capital, for the first time. The PDK is the party with mostly Asambliste and mostly director of departments in Kosovo municipalities. The PDK has 77 asamblistes out of a total of 206, as long as the PDK and 35 directors from 99 directors are running.