EMBs have a responsibility to ensure that they reflect the society’s gender composition in their internal and external activities. Elements of this responsibility may be defined in electoral and gender equity laws, and some may be adopted voluntarily by an EMB. In much of the world gender equity relates to women, as they generally constitute less than half of participants in elections despite making up half of the population. Across much of Asia, gender balance also considers the third gender.
Gender balance within the legislature or among candidates is included within electoral law in many countries. EMBs may have a role, such as ensuring that political parties nominate at least the number of women candidates required by law and rejecting any candidate list that does not comply (as in Argentina, Belgium, Costa Rica, Guyana, Iraq, Mexico, Mongolia, Palestine, Paraguay and Poland). Albania fined political parties, including the main government and opposition parties, for failing to meet quota requirements in 2013. Some may be taken on by an EMB as a social campaign; in 2004 the Indonesian EMB returned party candidate lists for reconsideration where they did not meet the recommended (but not enforceable) 30 per cent women candidate quota. It is good practice for EMBs to promote equity by advocating the inclusion of gender balance measures in electoral legislation and by including such measures in their own regulations or codes of conduct.
The provision and enforcement of sanctions is the most important way to ensure that gender quotas are effective. In the context of legislated quotas, the presence and enforcement of timely and proportionate sanctions greatly increases the likelihood of party compliance. Sanctions are usually provided in electoral laws, and EMBs are generally responsible for monitoring compliance. A majority of countries that use legislated candidate quotas have sanctions for non-compliance; the EMB rejects candidate lists (or sections thereof) that violate the quota rules. Some countries instead use a financial sanction; EMBs usually perform the function of detecting non-compliance and enforcing financial sanctions as well. EMBs’ determination to carefully oversee these processes is critical for upholding international obligations and the rule of law in this field.
Where gender quota rules provided in the electoral laws are ambiguous and open to various interpretations and exploitation from political actors, some electoral courts and tribunals have proven effective in strengthening the implementation of these rules through their rulings. In Costa Rica, a quota rule of 40 per cent was implemented in the 1998 elections, but the electoral authorities failed to reject lists that did not meet the quota requirement. In response, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal ruling the following year clarified the method in which the quota law should be implemented, specifying that lists should comprise a minimum of 40 per cent of either sex, and that women should have 40 per cent of electable seats, interpreted as the number of seats the party received in the district in the previous election. In Mexico, in 2011 the Federal Electoral Court upheld the appeal of several women who had challenged the practice of waiving the gender quota requirement of 40 per cent in candidate lists for parties that selected their candidates through primary elections. The court ruled that all parties had to abide by the quota requirement, and clarified that women members could only be substituted by women alternates.
Gender balance among EMB members and election staff at all levels is gaining greater attention. As of the end of 2013, women headed the EMBs in Albania, Georgia, Guatemala, Lesotho, Namibia, Saint Lucia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Taiwan and Zambia. At least one-third of EMB members are women in several countries, including Armenia, Ghana, Guam, Liberia and Costa Rica, as well as most of those who have a woman chair.
It is equally important to ensure that women are fully represented at all levels of the EMB secretariat and in its temporary election staff—as polling station staff and managers. Some electoral laws have a gender quota on the composition of the board and staff (East Timor) and employees (Kenya). In Nepal, parliamentary guidelines require that at least half of election staff who work with voters are women, and that each polling place must have a woman staff member to mark women’s fingers and a woman staff member to manage the women’s queue. In Guinea, the selection process for EMB members states that gender must be taken into account. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the rules on the composition of municipal election commission and polling station committees stipulate that effort should be made to ensure that each gender is represented by at least 40 per cent of members.
Commitments to increase women’s participation in EMB leadership positions and attain a gender balance across all levels of the electoral administration system need to be implemented in good faith, so that such efforts meet the intended standards and avoid the relegation of women to lower-level positions across the electoral administration system. For example, in Ukraine’s 2012 elections, women formed 72 per cent of staff in precinct election commissions, while there were only four women out of 15 members (26 per cent) of the Central Election Commission (CEC). In the 2012 Georgian parliamentary elections, women constituted two-thirds of the precinct election commissions and about half of the district election commissions, while only one woman served at the CEC level.
Ensuring that there is a gender balance in its own personnel and activities, whether or not this is required by electoral legislation or government policy, will promote an EMB’s credibility and allow it to fully tap the available resources for its membership, professional and support staff, consultants, advisers, and permanent and temporary staff.
Adopting an internal gender policy, carrying out a gender audit or mapping of all activities, following a gender mainstreaming policy and having a designated senior staff member who oversees gender inclusion who checks for gender inclusion are all ways that an EMB can ensure that women can participate fully in all aspects of an election. The EMB needs to provide a good example on gender balance issues in all its activities.
Creating a professional working environment within an EMB at all levels, in which there is zero tolerance of gender-based discrimination or harassment of any member of the institution, whether permanent or temporary staff, is vital for advancing the goal of true gender equality within the EMB. Cases of gender-based harassment and exploitation of staff by senior managers frequently go unreported or undocumented, which prevents the investigation and elimination of such practices. In this context, EMBs should strive to review and reform their internal oversight procedures, institute effective non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, and encourage the reporting and thorough investigation of such instances with adequate sanctions against perpetrators.
The staffing and set-up of registration process and polling places can have a major impact on women’s ability to cast a vote. In some places, women are effectively disenfranchised when their vote is cast by their father or husband. Where this is common, EMBs have been working to ensure that women cast their own vote, in secret. In the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the EMB adopted a strategy to prevent this practice and issued a strong directive to all staff. In addition, pregnant women and those with young children are routinely allowed to the front of the queue in polling places in Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda, and Uzbekistan has a special room for mothers at all polling places.
Where women wear a veil, then women workers are needed at the polling station and during voter registration if a photo is required as part of the process. In such countries, separate polling places for women and men are used (for instance in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan and Palestine). Different polling places for women and men are also common in South America.
The inclusion of gender-based issues in the content of training and voter education and information programmes is an important measure. When all images of an election contain men as polling place workers, security staff, candidates and voters, then women may gain the impression that their participation is not welcome. Thinking about the portrayal of elections in all materials promotes women’s participation in political life and enables the EMB to communicate more effectively with and respond to the needs of the whole society. Voter awareness posters that include women as polling place staff and voters have been used in Ghana, Kenya and Kosovo.
If women are known to constitute less than half of the electoral roll or to be less likely to vote, then targeted voter education can be effective. Many EMBs will assist relevant CSOs in such work. Such organizations are also more likely to conduct work encouraging women to stand as candidates for election. In the 2010 Tanzanian election, a booklet was distributed that encouraged women to stand as candidates and to vote, and reminded them that they have the right to cast their own vote for the candidate of their choice.
