Gender Analysis of Parliamentary Elections 2023.

Based on the programs of the electoral lists that participated in the parliamentary elections 2023 in, it seems that only heterosexual men live in Montenegro. Without the use of gender-disaggregated data, with rare measures concerning the empowerment of women, LGBTIQ+ people, persons with disabilities, Roma women, and other marginalized groups, the programs of most electoral lists appear discouraging, declarative, and do not contribute to Montenegro’s European path. Therefore, we can assume what future policies will look like, in whose name and for whom they will be made.

The results of the analysis “GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 2023” show that:

• Out of 15 lists, 14 were led by men.
• Only 1 list was led by a woman, and that list recorded the highest percentage of female candidates, at 59%.
• The ordering of women in lower positions in the group contributed to the continued trend of a decreasing number of women in the initial assembly of the Parliament.
• Out of 11 programs, only 1 program minimally consults gender analyses.
• Gender equality is MINIMALLY included in nine electoral programs, and two programs do not include this topic at all.
• Gender equality is almost exclusively recognized through the prism of gender-based violence, which also is not adequately addressed.
• Only one electoral program communicates equally with both male and female citizens through consistent use of gender-sensitive language.

These data lead us to many important questions, such as: for whom do parties create policies if they are not informed by the specific needs of women and other marginalized communities?

The answer to this and many other questions, as well as clear recommendations for political actors, together with the analysis in its entirety, are presented by the NGO Women’s Rights Center and the Association Spektra. The publication was produced with the financial support of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), as part of the project GENDER PERSPECTIVE OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 2023. The project aims to improve the gender perspective in the parliamentary elections in Montenegro in 2023 and to increase the awareness of political subjects about the importance of integrating the principles of gender equality into their electoral programs and future public policies they will create. Through the project, we monitored the compliance with the minimum quota for women on electoral lists, the quality of work of the State Election Commission in relation to quota control, analyzed electoral programs with a focus on gender equality and intersectionality, particularly including LGBTIQ+ issues.