Women’s representation in the Assembly, 1 January 2016

Open Data Albania is updating data on the representation of women in Parliament. On 1 January 2016, the Albanian Parliament had thirty-one female deputies. A year ago, the Parliament had only 26 deputies and the rate of their participation in the Assembly was 18.6%.  On January 1, 2016 the participation rate of women in the parliament was 22.14%.

Fifteen female deputies are currently representing the Socialist Party; eleven deputies are representing the Democratic Party, four deputies are Socialist Movement for Integration representatives and one deputy is from the Christian Democratic Party. Dibra and he Gjirokastra districts have no female representatives in the Parliament.

Districts in the north of the country are represented in the assembly by seven female MPs compared with eleven deputies from southern districts and thirteen others from three regions of the middle of Albania.

^{Source: Parliament 
Comments and analysis: ODA}

^{Source: Parliament
Comments and analysis: ODA}

List of names of female deputies in parliament 1 January 2016

^{Source: Parliament
Comments and analysis: ODA}

This report is written following the resignation of several female MPs from the mandate primarily to assume another position. In another case, the mandate of the deputy was removed from one deputy, because he was imprisoned and he was replaced by a woman deputy, who came next in the nominal list.  Specifically, the deputy Anila Agalliu from Berat district replaced the MP Ermonela Felaj; Silva Caka the deputy of Berat district replaced MP Nasip Naco; Esmeralda Shkjau, a deputy from Durres district replaced MP Ilir Beqaj; Arbjola Halimi  from Elbasan district has received the mandate by replacing the MP Ardian Turku; Luljeta Arapi from Elbasan district replaced the MP Damian Gjiknuri;  Edlira Çekrezi from Elbasan district replaced the deputy Miranda Rira; Antoneta Dhima from Fier district replaced the MP Majlinda Bufi; Mimoza Hajdarmataj from Kukës district replaced the MP Besnik Dushaj; Mirela Ferracaku of Shkodra district replaced former MP Mark Frroku; Irma Kopliku from Shkodra district replaced the deputy Voltana Ademi; Erjeta Alhysaj from Tirana district replaced the deputy Ditmir Bushati; Mira Shehu from Vlora district replaced the deputy Luiza Xhuvani.
 
Women’s participation in parliament in our country has been low for many years. After the approval of the new Electoral Code and the establishment of criteria for running lists, according to which they had to contain no less than 30% for each gender, during the last two electoral processes, that is after 2009, women representation in the parliament was increased compared with their too low representation during 1996-2005.

Albania has a lower level of women representation in the parliament compared with other countries in the region. Among the 20 countries under consideration, Spain ranks the first in terms of high participation of women in politics, by 41.1% compared with the rate of women representation in the parliament, which runs at 20.7%. Such countries as Turkey, Romania, Montenegro, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovakia have lower rates of women representation the parliament compared with our country. This figure is due to not only the level of democracy in a country, but also to the improvement of equality between men and women.

Source: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN.PARL.ZS
Comments and analysis: ODA