In a bid to lend support to the process of electoral reform in Tunisia as preparations get under way for the election of a Constituent Assembly on 24 July 2011, the IPU dispatched an expert mission to the country from 22 to 24 March 2011. Following consultations with Tunisian women politicians, members of civil society organizations and representatives of local and international youth movements, the mission met with the subcommittee tasked with writing the draft electoral law.
The discussions centred on identifying which election systems are the most conducive to a balanced representation of women and men in the future Assembly. The mission made the following recommendations: opt for an election system based on proportional representation; retain the principal electoral constituencies; strive for gender parity in candidatures and adhere strictly to the principle of every other candidate being a woman on party lists. It also recommended sanctions in cases of non-compliance and a ceiling on election contributions and candidates' expenses during election campaigns.
The mission team was composed of Professor Drude Dahlerup from the University of Stockholm, an expert in election systems and quotas (Sweden), Ms. Françoise Gaspard, former MP and expert on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (France), Ms. Syada Greiss, former MP and former President of the IPU Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians (Egypt), and Ms. Zeina Hilal, Programme Officer, IPU Gender Partnership Programme. (Recommendations attached)
to read the recommendations, please see the attached file
In a bid to lend support to the process of electoral reform in Tunisia as preparations get under way for the election of a Constituent Assembly on 24 July 2011, the IPU dispatched an expert mission to the country from 22 to 24 March 2011. Following consultations with Tunisian women politicians, members of civil society organizations and representatives of local and international youth movements, the mission met with the subcommittee tasked with writing the draft electoral law.
The discussions centred on identifying which election systems are the most conducive to a balanced representation of women and men in the future Assembly. The mission made the following recommendations: opt for an election system based on proportional representation; retain the principal electoral constituencies; strive for gender parity in candidatures and adhere strictly to the principle of every other candidate being a woman on party lists. It also recommended sanctions in cases of non-compliance and a ceiling on election contributions and candidates' expenses during election campaigns.
The mission team was composed of Professor Drude Dahlerup from the University of Stockholm, an expert in election systems and quotas (Sweden), Ms. Françoise Gaspard, former MP and expert on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (France), Ms. Syada Greiss, former MP and former President of the IPU Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians (Egypt), and Ms. Zeina Hilal, Programme Officer, IPU Gender Partnership Programme. (Recommendations attached)
to read the recommendations, please see the attached file