Gender monitoring of 2015 local elections in Ukraine

GENDER MONITORING OF 2015 LOCAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE

Results of the gender monitoring of 2015 local elections in 15 oblasts of Ukraine, conducted by All-Ukrainian NGO «Women’s Consortium of Ukraine» with the support of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

KYIV – 2015

GENDER MONITORING OF 2015 LOCAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE

Findings of the gender monitoring of 2015 local elections, conducted by All-Ukrainian NGO «Women’s Consortium of Ukraine» with the support of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in 15 oblasts of Ukraine, reiterated the importance of legislative support to gender equality in the electoral process, namely introduction of mandatory 30% representation of persons of one gender in the party lists in Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine on the Local Elections.

The monitoring confirmed that introduction of gender quotas empowered women to participate in the nation’s political life and helped to attract public attention to the issues of parity representation and significance of women’s political engagement At the same time, gender monitoring of the lists of candidates at local elections shows that despite legislative recognition of gender quotas, not all political parties observed the required 30% female representation in the party lists, which reaffirms the need in introducing sanctions for such non-observance of the law.

Representation of women in the party lists, as well as in local councils varies depending on the level of government, which reflects the general trend – the higher is the level of the elected body, the fewer women are present there.

If compared to the composition of municipal councils of previous convocation, the situation with gender balance at the local level has improved, especially in the cities and rayons. Yet representation of women in councils does not match their representation in the candidates’ lists.

Therefore, results of the gender monitoring of local elections affirm that formal observance of quotas during registration of the lists of candidates is not sufficient to ensure equal opportunities for women’s participation in the political life.

For female candidates to have equal and adequate opportunities to conduct effective electoral campaigns, to gain support and to be elected, it is necessary to introduce proportional financial, organizational, educational and methodological support from the political parties By encouraging women’s participation in the elections, political parties can lay the foundation for using professional, intellectual and personal capacities of women in setting development priorities, adding new topics to the political agenda, and making more sound and informed decisions that will strengthen democratic processes and accelerate Ukraine’s integration in the community of civilized European nations.

GENDER MONITORING OF 2015 LOCAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE

REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN

In the Local Councils of Different Governance Levels

The proportion of women in: The oblast councils The rayon councils The city councils of the cities of oblast subordination

% of women in the oblast council Vinnytsya Volyn Zaporizhya Kyiv Lviv Mykolayiv Odessa Poltava Rivne

14 11 11 13 15 16 13 16 5 17 17 16 11 10 10 16 9 13

VI convocation VII convocation

% of women in the city council of the oblast centre 16 17 16 21 16 16 15 18 8 25 13 20 15 22 40 19 17 21

VI convocation VII convocation

GENDER MONITORING OF 2015 LOCAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE

COMPARISON OF WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION

In the Oblast and City Councils of VI and VII Convocations

% of women in the oblast council Vinnytsya Volyn Zaporizhya Kyiv Lviv Mykolayiv Odessa Poltava Rivne Sumy Kharkiv Kherson Khmelnytsky Cherkassy Chernihiv

14 11 11 13 15 16 13 16 5 17 17 16 11 10 10 16 9 13 11 19 9 19 12 16 10 21 20 12 10 19

VI convocation VII convocation

% of women in the city council of the oblast centre 16 17 16 21 16 16 15 18 8 25 13 20 15 22 40 19 17 21 19 19 11 23 23 22 17 19 13 12 24 33

VI convocation VII convocation

GENDER MONITORING OF 2015 LOCAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE

COMPARISON OF FEMALE REPRESENTATION

In the Local Councils

Comparison of representation of women in the local councils and their representation in the party lists of candidates to oblast, rayon and city councils 35% 23%

37% 32%

36%

32% 24%

19%

21%

23%

33%

35%

37%

22%

33%

36% 23%

34%

25%

23%

22%

22% 38%

37% 35% 31% 100%

% of female candidates % of female deputies 0%

28%

37% 27%

26%

GENDER MONITORING OF 2015 LOCAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE

REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN THE LISTS OF CANDIDATES To Oblast, Rayon and City Councils

The proportion of women in the lists of candidates: To the oblast councils To the rayon councils To the city councils

GENDER MONITORING OF 2015 LOCAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE

THE LEVEL OF FEMALE REPRESENTATION

In the Local Councils of Different Levels (by Political Parties) Total % of female deputies*

Average % of female deputies at the level of

Political party «Nash Kray» (Our Land)

30

15 25 33

Party «Vidrodzhenya” (Revival)

29

19 33 30

Political Party «The Opposition Block»

28

12 23 32

Political Party «Samopomich» (Self-Help Union)

27

28 27 27

Political Party «All-Ukrainian Union «Batkivshchyna» (Homeland)

25

12 21 27

Political Party «Ukrainian Union of Patriots – UKROP»

24

21 25 24

Oleh Lyashko’s Radical Party

23

19 19 25

22

10 25 22

19

2 32 19

19

16 18 20

Party «Blok Petra Poroshenka «Solidarnist» (Petro Poroshenko’s Solidarity Block) Agrarian Party of Ukraine Political Party «All-Ukrainian Union «Svoboda»(Freedom)

* Total % of women in the parties at the level of oblast, rayon and city councils

Oblast council City council Rayon council

For more detailed information about gender monitoring of 2015 local elections in Ukraine please visit the website «Women in Politics»: http://vybory2014.wcu-network.org.ua/ This publication was designed and produced by «Women’s Consortium of Ukraine» in collaboration with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). The content expressed herein is the sole responsibility of NGO «Women’s Consortium of Ukraine»” and does not necessarily reflect views of IDEA. Any reproduction and use of the publication or its part in any format, including graphic, electronic, photocopying or other use without proper reference to the original is prohibited.

Contacts for feedback: email: info@wcu-network.org.ua tel.: +38-044-592-68-54 All-Ukrainian NGO «Women’s Consortium of Ukraine»