A few countries also provide rules for the ranking order on the list. In Serbia every 4th position must be filled with the less represented sex. In Spain it is every 5th place, while in Armenia women must be placed on every 10th position only. In Bosnia and Herzegovina there must be one candidate of the underrepresented sex among the first two positions on the list, two candidates among the first five, and three among the first eight. In Belgium the top two positions (in 2002: the top three) must not be filled by candidates of the same sex. None of the legal quotas, however, provides for a “zipper system”, where every other candidate on the list must be a woman. The importance of placement mandates can not be overestimated since they may oblige the parties to put female candidates on prominent positions on the list. However, the existing regulations in Europe are rather few and far between.
