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Fungai Lupande Mashonaland Central Bureau
Gender activists at the National Gender Forum that is being held in Bindura have called for 50/50 representation of women and the adoption of the proportional electoral system.
Addressing the Forum, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission chair person Commissioner Margret Mukahanana-Sangarwe said:
“We are also calling for the executive in Parliament to consider operationalising the gender equality provisions through the constitutional and legal reform and to adopt a proportional electoral system.
The call was made following a trend analysis of the participation of women in direct elections by the Zimbabwe Gender Commission from 2013 to date indicates regression.
Comm Mukahanana said the proportional electoral system will enable people to vote for a party and not individuals in direct elections and recommended the alignment of the Electoral Act to section 56 (2) of the constitution.
This will compel political parties to submit gender-balanced candidate lists to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
She also called for the enactment of the Gender Equality Act which provides for the 50/50 women representation which will force the winning party to allocate its seats in the zebra system with women first.
This legislation will operationalise and translate the constitutional provision of gender parity.
“Currently the Constitution says 50/50 representation and it ends there but this legislation brings effect to the provisions and sanctions enforcement,” she said.
“We are calling for the amendment to the Political Parties Finance Act to provide a framework that encourages participation and financial support of women.
“There is a need to strengthen laws in response to violence against women in politics. This will be necessary when we continue voting for individuals but if we are voting for political parties then it will be violence against the party and manageable.”
Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Ministry Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the Gender Equality Act is an important vehicle in achieving gender equality in Zimbabwe.
Despite women constituting 52 percent of the population and 53, 66 percent of registered voters, only one, Mrs Elizabeth Valerio was a presidential candidate against 11 men in the just-ended elections.
In the National Assembly, 70 candidates were women compared to 563 men, and 735 female candidates in local government compared to 4 122 men.
In the election results, 23 women won in the National Assembly against 186 men and 267 women in local authority compared to 1 719 men.
Mashonaland Central and Matabeleland South have no women directly elected into Parliament.
Online Reporter