III. Comments on the Text on the Draft Electoral Law 

A. Electoral system, suffrage rights and basic principles

The draft electoral law does not contain any affirmative measures to increase the participation of women in elections. In its final report on the 2012 parliamentary elections, the OSCE/ODIHR recommended to consider the introduction of a gender requirement for nomination of party lists as a temporary measure to increase the participation of women in elections.[1] This recommendation is consistent with the provisions of Article 4 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which has been ratified by Ukraine, and the principles of the Council of Europe.[2] The Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR recommend that consideration be given to adding appropriate text in the draft electoral law for mandatory gender quotas for party lists presenting candidates for the proportional representation component of the parliamentary elections.

[1] See OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report on the 28 October 2012 parliamentary elections, page 37.

[2]See, e.g., Recommendation 1899(2010), on "Increasing women's representation in politics through the electoral system", which encourages countries with proportional representation systems to consider the introduction of mandatory gender quotas for party lists.