After 2008, Albania started applying new and improved standards geared towards the effective advancement of gender equality in politics. The last parliamentary elections of 2013 and the last local government elections of 2015 bore witness to the positive trend of an improved gender balance in political representation and to the joint future challenges of the political parties in this regard. The 2017 parliamentary elections took place in a new legal and political context, marked by a wide consensus among political parties to further advance gender representation in qualitative and quantitative terms. The upcoming elections will see the first impact of the decriminalization law, and the effect of an initiative launched from several MPs from different sides of the political spectrum to apply the same gender quotas in the Albanian parliament as during the last local government elections.
Political parties play a pivotal role with regard to the fulfillment of the constitutional principle of citizen’s representation in political decision-making. They have a monopoly of political representation. An analysis of the political parties in Albania (statutory framework, organizational structures, actual functioning, decision-making patterns, electoral programs, political programs, electoral behavior, political narratives etc.) gives a snapshot on the issues and problems related to political representation in Albania, and to their impact on elections in the country. The Institute for Political Studies maintains that an analysis of women’s participation in elections and political parties is an important part of the comprehensive analysis on internal democracy in the political parties and the quality of the representative system as a whole.
However, the trend towards a proportional gender representation in line with the most advanced democratic standards requires an enabling environment that entails public support, the application of gender equality standards within the parties themselves, and a host of sustainable institutional mechanisms able to support this effort regardless of the changing dynamics of specific interests or electoral imbalances.
This study aims to provide an analytical review of the situation and of the main features of the women’s representation in Albania’s political parties. The study discusses the legal framework on gender equality, the related strategic documents, and the most updated data related to women’s representation in political parties. Our review also included the 2013, 2015 and 2017 elections, and the situation on the eve of the upcoming 2019 local elections.
This study focuses on political parties, their organizational structure, the gender relations in them regarding representation and decision-making, the representative functions of women’s forums within the parties, and future challenges. The study measures each factor against the standard of fair gender representation and asserts that the political will and vision of party leadership, rather than statutory requirements, play a greater role in the advancement of gender equality in politics.
The study also intends to make short-term and long-term recommendations and address future improvements that need to be made. Improvements in the legal framework and internal party statutes, as well as strengthening of the representative and political role of women organisations within the parties are preconditions for establishing a sustainable and effective institutional context, that can have a positive and long-lasting effect on the improvement of gender representation in the parliament, local government institutions and all levels of political decision-making.
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