WRC PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE LAW ON THE GOVERNMENT: QUOTAS FOR THE UNDERREPRESENTED GENDER

WRC PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE LAW ON THE GOVERNMENT TO PROPOSE QUOTAS FOR THE UNDERREPRESENTED GENDER

Podgorica, 21.10.2022.

WRC proposal states that the Law on Government, in addition to the duty of the mandate holder to take into account gender equality when proposing the composition of the Government, also prescribes a legal obligation that in the final proposal of the members for the composition of the Government among the candidates there should be no less than 40% of representatives of the less represented gender . If the structure envisages only one vice-president, the Law on Government should provide that a candidate from the less represented gender be proposed for this function. Furthermore, the Law should also provide a prescription of the duty of the President to reject any proposal for the composition of the Government that does not respect quotas for the less represented sex, as well as a provision that would guarantee that any change in the structure of the Government must be carried out with respect for the principle of gender equality and respect for the stipulated quotas for the less represented gender.

The introduction of quotas for the underrepresented gender in the Law on Government would ensure that the issue of women’s political participation at the highest levels of decision-making is excluded from daily political calculations and would also represent a legal obligation, not just the good will of the mandated members of the Government.

After the parliamentary elections in 2020, we witnessed the complete exclusion of women from post-election political consultations, and such a low representation in the process of negotiations on the composition of the Government that it could be considered symbolic. If women are not at the head of the parliamentary parties and do not have a seat at the table during the political negotiations on the composition of the Government, it is clear that in the foreseeable future we cannot expect to get a significant percentage of women in the Government of Montenegro by the will of the political elites. That is why it is extremely important to include provisions in the Draft Law on the Government that will have a truly transformative character for the state of gender equality in the country and guarantee a significant percentage of women in the Government.

NGO WOMEN’S RIGHTS CENTER