Political Parties Should Place Female Candidate As the Number One Candidate

Political parties are urged to place their female candidates as the number one candidate in at least 30 percent of all electoral districts. The government need to make a regulation about this affirmative policy in order to increase women representation in parliament.

“We want the government to make a regulation on this. Political party tends to place their leader and other elites on the top of their candidates list. For example, the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) only had two female candidates as their top candidate during the 2009 Legislative Elections,” says the Coordinator of the Civil Society Alliance for Women Politicians, Yuda Irlang, during a public discussion titled “Law Enforcement in the New Election Law Bill” in Jakarta (11/06).

Yuda argues all members of the society need to promote the increase of women representation in parliament. In the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) program, women representation in parliament is set to reach 50:50 ratio by 2030.

“We want women politicians to have more power in parliament. In 2030, the gender ration in parliament should be 50:50. This is a cause that should be supported also by men,” says Yuda.