Debate Over Women’s Share And Corrupt Money In Parliamentary Elections

During a discussion session on the draft amendment to the election law, members of the National People’s Assembly called for a review of the wording of Article 200 concerning the fight against corrupt money, emphasizing the need to clarify it in a way that prevents its use as a tool to exclude candidates without legal justification.

Meanwhile, female parliamentarians demanded a review of the reduction in women’s share in electoral lists, considering it a setback from the gains achieved in enhancing women’s political participation.

The session witnessed extensive debate due to the importance of the amended text, with the issue of women’s representation emerging as one of the most significant points of discussion.

Many expressed their rejection of abandoning the principle of parity enshrined in the current law, warning that reducing the share to one-third would weaken women’s presence in elected councils and diminish their chances of reaching decision-making positions.

In the same context, parliamentary interventions called for adopting the principle of rotation in the order of electoral lists between women and men, ensuring effective equality of opportunities and strengthening the principle of partnership in political and economic work.

On the other hand, proposals were put forward by MPs to amend the age requirement for young people, with several calling for it to be raised from 40 to 45 years. This proposal is currently under study by the legal committee, with justifications related to enabling a wider range of competencies to participate in electoral contests.

As for Article 200, which deals with combating political money, it received significant attention from MPs. Interveners called for its more precise reformulation to close legal loopholes that could be exploited to exclude candidates through administrative decisions that are not sufficiently substantiated. One MP questioned the fate of cases that were excluded in previous elections under this clause, as well as the fate of files referred to justice, calling for a transparent evaluation of these experiences.

In contrast to these criticisms, other parties defended the proposed amendments, noting that the new text obliges the body responsible for reviewing candidacy files to provide reasoned decisions in case of rejection, which opens the door for judicial appeal before the competent administrative authorities and enhances guarantees of transparency and fairness.

The proposal to combine the closed and open list systems also garnered interest from several MPs, who considered it a step that would revitalize political action by granting parties and independent lists the authority to arrange their candidates, while retaining the striking-out mechanism as an option for voters.

On another note, parliamentary interventions expressed reservations about reducing the number of members of the election authority, calling for the necessity of strengthening it with sufficient human resources, as it is the primary guarantor of the integrity and transparency of the electoral process.

In a related context, MPs emphasized in their interventions the importance of establishing stricter mechanisms for monitoring the electoral process, especially regarding detecting cases of inflated results or recording illogical participation rates in some areas, stressing the necessity of confronting all forms of vote manipulation.

Some interveners also raised the issue of some current elected officials exploiting their positions to pave the way for upcoming elections, by distributing projects or real estate grants, especially in the High Plateaus regions, which they considered practices that require strict oversight to ensure equal opportunities among all candidates.