élections

In March 2014, the Maltese electorate gave a resounding thumbs-up to four female Maltese candidates out of the six elected to the European Parliament. A month later the second female President of Malta was sworn into office.

It is with great satisfaction that one notes such a positive leap towards gender parity in Maltese politics.

Europe’s security body has released a strongly-worded statement voicing concern over the targeting of prominent Turkish journalist Amberin Zaman by presidential hopeful Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

There may have been storms on election day, but for Delegate Donna Christensen the sun was shining.  She and her running mate, Basil Ottley, beat out a crowded six candidate field to win the Democratic primary for Governor of the Virgin Islands.

Del. Christensen’s primary win and all but certain victory in the general election means she will be the first Black female Governor of the U.S. and its territories.

The Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), on Thursday urged more women to contest the forthcoming district assemblies’ elections to enable them to participate actively in policy formulation and decision-making processes.

Mrs Theodora Williams Anti, FOSDA Programme Officer said the participation of more women in politics and the decision-making process with their male counter parts would provide a balance that more accurately reflects the composition of society and is needed in order to strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioning.

Black female politicians have made history in the state of Georgia. For the first time ever, not just in the state but the nation, five African-American women will be on a statewide ballot.

These candidates are:  Doreen Carter for secretary of state, Liz Johnson for insurance commissioner, Robbin Shipp for labor commissioner, Connie Stokes for lieutenant governor and Valarie Wilson for school superintendent.  So far, Wilson grabbed the Democratic nomination in a recent runoff against another black woman, Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan of Austell.

With just 99 days to go until election day in November, political parties and candidates are all hard at work, looking for votes.

Democrats want to make sure they get as many women's votes as they can. So they brought national Democratic Party Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida) to Maine for a fundraiser on Monday. She also joined First District Rep. Chellie Pingree and Second District Congressional candidate Emily Cain at a pre-lunch rally.

The Chairman of the opposition Liberty Party, Atty. Fonati Koffa, said the Liberty is in the lead pushing the gender parity. Speaking at a fundraising dinner organized by Senator Nyonblee Karngar Lawrence and held at the Cape Hotel on Friday July 25, 2014, Atty. Koffa said the party will support women candidates to ensure success in politics.

The Public Defender’s Office has expressed its concerns over the declining rate of women's participation in the country’s political life experiences and there is no progress observed on the horizon. 

According to Ombudsmen Ucha Nanuashvili, the deterioration in this regard was revealed after the 2014 local elections in which women's representation met only 11.1%. Also, changes were made in the cabinet of ministers without the consideration of female participation. 

The heady days when Sydney women looked up to a female prime minister, female premier, governor and governor-general are long gone.

There is just one female cabinet minister in Canberra. And now the NSW parliament is likely to emerge from the next election with its worst result for women’s representation in the upper house in decades.

NSW Labor has ignored Labor’s rule that 40 per cent of candidates pre-selected for winnable seats must be women. The Nationals and Liberals' merit-based promotion of female candidates has similarly failed.