UN: Parlt not equally represented

National

WITHOUT greater numbers of women in Parliament, as an institution, it will never be truly representative of all Papua New Guineans, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
In preparation for the 2022 national general elections, the UNDP and the integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission (IPPCC) have commenced efforts to drive a critical national initiative.
UNDP said this initiative aimed to raise awareness on the importance of getting women into the Parliament.
It also said the initiative aimed to raise greater awareness among potential women candidates on how to register to contest in the 2022 elections.
UNDP’s resident representative Dirk Wagener said: “It remains an impediment to national development when a Parliament does not reflect half of its population.
“Parliaments work best when they reflect the views of all people.
“Getting women into Parliament is essential to achieving this.
“Disappointingly, PNG is one of five countries in the world with a Parliament that has no female members.”
At the moment, there are no women holding seats in the Parliament.
Despite much discussion over recent years on a range of measures to address this, little progress were made.
There remains many structural and traditional impediments that hamper women candidates running and competing in electoral campaigns.
Training, education and awareness are important first steps to change this.
The registrar of political parties, and head of IPPCC, Dr Alphonse Gelu, said: “Political parties play a vital role in shaping policy and influencing development.
“As the registrar of political parties, I have been leading work on reforms to better structure and organise our political parties as important institutions to promote good governance and uphold democratic principles.
“The call for intending women candidates to register with my office will enable us to engage with them well before the 2022 elections.”

One thought on “UN: Parlt not equally represented

  • Sorry UN.
    First principle of democracy is electing a representative for a group in a community which consists of men, women and children through the electoral process.
    People in each community can choose anyone they believe has the credentials.
    Unfortunately gender is not a criteria.
    UN can go preach this in China, Russia US, Canada and countries of South America.

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