Minister decries poor representation of women in Burkina Faso elections
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Women representation in various elections held in Burkina Faso is "very poor", according to available statistics despite a 2009 legislation on the issue, the country's Minister of Territorial Administration for Decentralization and of Social Cohesion, Siméon Sawadogo, said on Friday.
"We noted that since the elections a few years ago, we have not been able to achieve 15% positioning of women on the electoral list and who is elected, whether at the level of the National Assembly as a deputy or at the level of municipal councils," Mr. Sawadogo remarked at a workshop aimed at popularising the law on gender balance.
"The statistics are very poor," he said, arguing that it has become necessary "for us to be able to work in accordance with our international commitments on women's rights".
The law stipulates 30% of female candidates in political formations. However, in the 2015 legislative elections, out of 127 seats, 11 women were elected, i.e. 8.66%, while at the end of the 2016 municipal elections, out of a total of 18,602 elected councilors, 2,359 were women, or 12.68% of elected officials.
Burkina Faso is organising legislative and presidential elections on 22 November 2020.
-0- PANA TNDD/TBM/KND/AR 4Sept2020
