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Law Of Parity: States That The Lists For The Assembly Of The Republic, To The European Parliament And For Local Authorities, Are Composed So As To Ensure The Representation Of At Least 33% Of Each Of The Sexes.

Original Language Title: Lei da Paridade: Estabelece que as listas para a Assembleia da República, para o Parlamento Europeu e para as autarquias locais, são compostas de modo a assegurar a representação mínima de 33% de cada um dos sexos.

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DRAFT LAW NO. 224 /X

PARITY LAW: IT ESTABLISHES THAT THE LISTS FOR THE ASSEMBLY

OF THE REPUBLIC, FOR THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND FOR THE

LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE COMPOSED SO AS TO ENSURE

MINIMUM REPRESENTATION OF 33% OF EACH OF THE SEXES

Exhibition of reasons

The foundation of democracy and the passage of the Constitution of 1976 created the

political and legal conditions for Portuguese citizens to obtain full

right to vote and to be elected to all political office.

The reforms that successively took place in Portugal after the day 25 of

April, they also allowed the legal inequalities and social injustices of which

the women were victims were partially attenuated. However, none of these

reforms influenced, decisively, the representation of women in the " world

political ".

In the Assembly of the Republic, the similarity of other organs of representation

policy, and notwithstanding the growing trend of feminisation of mandates

parliamentarians, is currently still verifying a phenomenon of under-representation

feminine.

In 1976, women accounted for about 5% percent of the total number of

Deputies, value that amounted to 6.8% in 1980, to 7.2% in 1983, which regressed to

6.4% in 1985 and which met again a positive evolution in the following years,

cipher in 7.6% in 1987, at 8.7% in 1991, at 12.2% in 1995, in 17.8% in

1999 and in 19.6% in 2002.

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The percentage of women elected in the February legislative elections

2005 corresponded to 21.3% (were elected 49 women in 230 seats-PS 35, PSD 6,

CFP 2, CDS-PP 1, BE 4 and PEV 1).

At present there are in functions 46 Deputes elected by the PS, 7 by the PSD, 4 by the

BE, 2 by the CFP, 1 by the PP and 1 by the ENP, by permaking a total of 61 women in the

Parliament, corresponding to a percentage of 26% of the global number of

Deputies.

There is this way a positive development in the rate of feminisation of the

parliamentary mandates, which in the period of 30 years (between 1976 and 2006) more than

quintupled, being untold the substantial contribution of the Socialist Party in this

matter-46 of the current 61 Deputients in exercise of functions, i.e. more than 75%

of the women parliamentarians, were elected by the Socialist Party,.

However, on a global level, and according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which

is based on the information provided by the national parliaments of 187 countries,

Portugal lies in 42. th place, ex aequo with Pakistan, in the classification by

disincreasing order of percentage of women in the low or single chambers, with

21.3%.

With the presentation of this bill, also the expedient in the evasive practice

of putting women on the threshold of predictable eligibility is invitative through the

determination of the impossiblity of presentation, in the ordering of the lists for circles

plurinominals, from two candidates of the same sex placed consecutively,

ensuring by this medium also that letter and spirit of the law are in tune,

running for the same fund objective.

A background problem is still found in the quality of our

political system. The similarity of the path travelled by other political systems with

a degree of maturity superior to our own, the speed at which the political universe reflects

the transformations by which it has been past the Portuguese female condition is lower than the

speed checked in other social contexts, notably in the labour world and

college. This is still why a sharp gap is seen between the

composition of electoral universe and the composition of the elected representatives.

Pese although the favourable trajectory, Portugal continues today away from values

considered close to parity, presenting values equivalent to the percentages

of feminization verified in the Nordic countries in the 70. It is exactly in these

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intermediate stages of democratic maturity that is to equate the introduction of

instruments that guarantee effective participation and representation of genera.

The constitutional revision of 1997 reflects exactly that objective, to the

introduce amendments to the wording of Article 109 of the Constitution, passing on that

" the direct and active participation of men and women in political life constitutes

condition and fundamental instrument of consolidation of the democratic system, owing

the law promotes equality in the exercise of civil and political rights and the non

discrimination as a function of sex in access to public office ".

This constitutional precept must still be conjugated to the new (h) of the

article 9, which declares fundamental task of the State to promote equality between men

and women.

But, the new wording conferred on that Article 109 of the Constitution implies,

more than a simple repetition by legislative route of the principle of equality and of

access to political office, it mainly entails the promotion of measures aimed at a

effective equality. It is not a mere college, but a real duty to

legislate by law of the Assembly of the Republic, in respect of its absolute reserve and under the

form of organic law, because they are in cause measures that contend with subjects

electoral and political parties.

The useful sense of the constitutional standard consists in the imposition of the legislator

ordinary of the efective, by appropriate processes, of that equality of participation. It is,

for, in the framework of the deepening of the quality of democracy that the Constitution,

after the 1997 review, it goes on to demand a legal instrument that I have carried out

both from men and women in political life.

The present draft law is thus based on a new concept and has a

objective of concrete effect of women's rights: to do so is a noble form

of perfecting our democratic system by aiming at the realization of a

parity democracy.

The draft fixed law in 33.3% the minimum representation for both sexes

on the electoral lists, with equivalent reflexes in the elected and the elected, the

corresponds to a quantitative target on the path to parity.

It has generally been considered that a minimum of 30% of each sex could

constitute the "parity threshold", from which effective representation is possible

and effective of humanity as a whole and an expression of its masculine strands and

feminine.

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The underrepresentation of women corresponds to a participatory deficit,

likely to inforate Republican universalism and equality that substantiates it. The

parity is the only means of suppressing it, remaining faithful to the principle of equality.

Because by refusing the inequality that characterizes the current situation and which is

deeply unjust and undemocratic, she accepts and values the difference, which

recognizes the specificity of people.

A more significant participation of women in political life, being

essentially a requirement for justice and democracy, will also allow the

emergence of new looks on the reality and from different points of view, as

men and women have, of course, lived experiences and experiences that are historical and

culturally different.

Thus, in the terms of the Constitution and the applicable regimental standards, the

Lower-signed MPs present to the Assembly of the Republic the following project

of law:

Article 1.

(Lists of applications)

The lists of applications submitted for the Assembly of the Republic, for the

European Parliament and for local authorities are compriseof the promotion of

parity between men and women.

Article 2.

(Parity)

1-Understanding by parity, for the purposes of applying this Law, to

minimum representation of 33.3% of each of the sexes in the lists.

2-For fulfillment of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the lists submitted

for plurinominal circles cannot contain more than two candidates of the same sex

placed, consecutively, in the ordering of the list.

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3-In the elections in which there are uninominal circles, the whole of candidates

herds in the ensemble of the partial circle and respective uninominal circles as well as the

totality of alternate candidates, have to ensure the minimum representation of each

of the sexes provided for in paragraph 1.

4-Exceptions of the provisions of paragraph 1 a composition of the lists for the organs

of the freguesias with 500 or fewer voters and for the organs of the municipalities with 5000

or fewer voters.

Article 3.

(Notification of the mandatary)

In the case of a list not observing the provisions of this Law, the mandatary is

notified, in the terms set out in the electoral law, applicable, to make its correction

within the time set in the same law, under penalty of rejection of the list in question.

Assembly of the Republic, March 8, 2006

The Deputies,