OC seeks system revamp to better women’s odds

National

WOMEN will have better opportunities to win seats in Parliament if people are given the freedom to exercise their rights through the electronic voting system, Chief Ombudsman Michael Dick says.
Commending the 167 women who contested the general election “against all odds”, Dick said the government should change the system.
“We need to change the voting system to offer opportunities to women to be elected to represent us at the most important decision-making level,” he said.
“Women are an important part of development and it is sad to know that there are no women in Parliament.”
Ombudsman Commission lawyer Vergil Narakobi said the founding principles for the participation of women in all levels of decision making lay in the legal system.
Narakobi said the situation could be improved through legislative reform. “We must talk about reserved seats, how to grease the existing system to make it better so that we can get more women participation,” he said.
Narakobi commended Central regional candidate Rufina Peter, who finished third in the race.
“Those who are involved in the process need to document and record these success stories to help to set out the strategies that will enable women to fare better,” he said.
“Another area is to look at the existing political process, the voting system and how to encourage political parties to be involved in the process.”