The Organization of American States (OAS) will for the first time in Guyana assess the participation of men and women in the electoral process including at leadership levels.
This was announced by Professor Gordon Shirley, the Chief of Mission for the OAS elections observer mission (EOM) for Monday’s general and regional elections. “This methodology will allow the OAS to assess the full and equal participation of both women and men in the electoral process at all levels, as well as contribute recommendations to member states on how to improve in this area,” a statement from the OAS said. This will be done through the OAS’ Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO).
The methodology assesses women and men’s participation at the following levels: as voters; as candidates and political activists; and as leaders within state institutions.
“In general, the methodology will analyze the diverse factors that directly and indirectly influence the opportunities and the barriers to participation in the political process specifically faced by women”, said Professor Shirley. “This gender mainstreaming initiative will contribute a significant new level of data on women’s political participation throughout the region,” he added.
The release said that the project was initiated in November 2009 with support from the governments of Canada, Germany, and Spain. It said also that other pilot projects of this methodology to date have been conducted in the Latin American countries of Paraguay, Peru, Guatemala and Colombia.
“The OAS/EOM wishes to highlight the fact that Guyana is the only country in the Caribbean that to date has established a gender quota for party lists. The OAS/EOM hopes that this legal advance will be reflected in practice with the active participation of women in the coming election and that the country will continue to promote women’s participation in all aspects of public life,” the release quoted Professor Shirley as saying.
