Iraq Elections: What role will gender quotas play?
Source: CNN
Whatever the outcome of Iraq's May 12 parliamentary elections, female candidates are guaranteed at least 25% of the seats, as per the country's constitution.
This year, nearly 2,600 female candidates are competing for a minimum of 83 seats reserved for women in the national parliament. Theoretically, Iraqi women could occupy positions outside the "quota seats," if they receive enough votes to win competitive seats.
However, statistics from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) show that since the quota was introduced after the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, women have not won enough votes to be elected beyond this quota.
Furthermore, in the lead up to the May election, a number of female candidates have been the target of "defamation campaigns," according to the UN, pressuring them to withdraw from the race.
Click here to read the full article published by CNN on 11 May 2018.
Whatever the outcome of Iraq's May 12 parliamentary elections, female candidates are guaranteed at least 25% of the seats, as per the country's constitution.
This year, nearly 2,600 female candidates are competing for a minimum of 83 seats reserved for women in the national parliament. Theoretically, Iraqi women could occupy positions outside the "quota seats," if they receive enough votes to win competitive seats.
However, statistics from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) show that since the quota was introduced after the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, women have not won enough votes to be elected beyond this quota.
Furthermore, in the lead up to the May election, a number of female candidates have been the target of "defamation campaigns," according to the UN, pressuring them to withdraw from the race.
Click here to read the full article published by CNN on 11 May 2018.