Female candidates perform better: Registrar

DESPITE low numbers of female candidates endorsed by political parties, women in parties perform better than independent women, Registrar of Political Parties Dr Alphonse Gelu says.
The 2012 and 2017 elections showed women still comprised a small fraction of all candidates in parties.
Dr Gelu said the organic law on political parties and candidates provided an incentive to political parties for endorsing female candidates under Section 83.
“Any political party who endorses a women candidate will be refunded 75 per cent of funds expanded by the political party on the women candidate, provided the women candidate obtains 10 per cent of votes in their electorate,” he said.
Dr Gelu said the proportion of female candidates endorsed by parties in PNG was the lowest in the Pacific, and one of the lowest in the world.
A proposed amendment to the Organic Law on Integrity of Political Parties promises to increase women participation.
According Dr Gelu, proposed amendments that are before Parliament include political parties to endorse 20 per cent of women candidates and parties to support women candidates in the same way they support men.
“For PNG, we are known as a developing democracy, we have not reached the mature state of democracy that some other countries enjoy. Therefore, our party system is still weak and fragile,” he said.
National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop said the national elections would face issues in April and what the chances were of women being elected into Parliament.
“Going back to the 2017 election, the chances were not really good, especially this time the economy has slowed down, capacity of political parties and candidates to contest is low and the dynamic of women having excess to resources and finance – they will be in a much worse position,” he said.
He said the temporary special measure was most important to guarantee as least some women to be in parliament.