Few women run for mayors

Mimoza Kusari-Lila is the first and only head of women to lead the Gjakova municipality for a mandate. In this municipality, there is no candidate women for the 12 October local elections.

In the neighboring municipality of Gjakova, Pec, The PDK has nominated for chairman Arta Nallban, Kamenica Jonica Arifi, and for northern Mitrovica, the Hamza butterfly.

Among the 19 candidates for chairmanship, the AAK has nominated two women -- Xhemile Murati in Ferizaj and Vildane Latifi in Fushe Kosova.

The LDK, among 28 mayoral candidates, has only one wife. Ariana Hasani has been nominated for Zubin Potok's municipality. From this party, they have not indicated why they have no more female candidates.

For Radio Kosovo, neither did the Vetevendosje Movement respond to it, in terms of proposing women candidates for mayors. Sources from this party say they did not propose any women to run any Kosovo municipality.

The Social Democrat Party, which is not parliamentary, has run two women for mayors. For Decani, Nature Red, while belief in leading the capital has been given to Besa Sahin.

The small number of candidates for mayor is the continuation of ordinary negative trends not to really involve women for the local level, Eugen Cakoli, from the Kosovo Democratic Institute, the organisation that monitors election processes, tells Radio Kosovo.

“Political subjects have not even offered minimum space to women to compete in elections. First of all, even in the absence of a legal sanction or, worse, is running through municipalities where parties in question are minimally likely to win. It is the indication that political subjects still continue not to take gender representation” seriously, he said.

The small number of candidates for mayors, sociologist Beautije Rrustemi connected with the patriarchate and the faith of women leaders.“Our society is not emancipated that way and does not view women as capable of leading me. Society does not vote a woman candidate because it sees that the best leadership can come from a man. Women do not have enough support from the family, but also from political leaders. Also, the challenge for them is financial opportunity for promotion”, she said.

While, Naim Jakaj from the Kosovo Institute for Justice, says the country needs more women's involvement in politics and leadership.

We know from various reports that women have been assessed and shown good performance in government, when they had the chance, and that would have to be translated locally and there would be more representation. But unfortunately this isn't happening”, he said.

Even for municipal assembly, the number of female candidates is small, and rarely happens to exceed the imposed legal quota of 30%. /Periscope