The gender quota does not always guarantee the representation of women in newly elected councils

The study of the composition of the Council of Elders formed as a result of the local elections held in 36 enlarged communities of Armenia on December 5 confirmed the effectiveness of the gender quota. Due to the quota, the average representation of women in the Council of Elders has grown by a leap from 8.8% to 31%. At the same time, the elections revealed that the gender quota enshrined in the Electoral Code does not always guarantee the representation of women in newly elected councils.

In particular, there were cases when the quota requirement was observed in the voter lists of political forces: not less than 30% of women candidates are included in the voter lists, but women are not included in the Council of Elders or faction formed as a result of the elections.

WomenNet.am tried to find out the reasons based on Article 141, Clauses 6 and 8 of the RA Electoral Code, which guarantee at least 30% representation of the underrepresented sex in the distribution of mandates, as well as in case of resignation in the elected faction. In several cases that arose during the local elections 2021, this guarantee did not work, as there were no women left on the voter list of this or that political force. As a result, the Council of Elders is replenished with male candidates and Gender quota on the voter list is not reflected in the composition of the Council of Elders.

Full  text in Armenian