Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1474369
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 JULY 2022 NEWS NICOLE MEILAK THE OSCE international elec- tion monitoring board has sug- gested that Malta's gender cor- rective mechanism be revisited before the next elections. In a report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on the 2022 elections, the election expert team (EET) deployed to Mal- ta questioned the impact of the gender-corrective mechanism adopted last year to ensure gen- der parity in parliament. Several EET interlocutors re- marked that the measures "serve to reinforce the two-party dom- inance in the legislature while failing to address structural bar- riers to the representation of women in parliament [and] po- litical life". In light of this, the body rec- ommended that the mechanism could be "revisited and revised, in consultation with stakehold- ers, well in advance of the next elections". The gender corrective mecha- nism kicks in if the under-rep- resented sex makes up less than 40% of all seats in parliament after the election outcome is known. However, the mecha- nism only kicks in if two parties are elected to parliament. The OSCE pointed out that from the 177 candidates who contested this year's election, only 41 candidates – or 23% - were women. Furthermore, 22 of the candidates eventu- ally took parliamentary seats. "Political parties should also be encouraged to strengthen their efforts to support women's par- ticipation through internal party policies and the integration of gender equality considerations in their platforms." OSCE: Malta gender quotas should be reviewed by next election