Lisbon - A new Portuguese equality law stipulates that women must make up one
third of all candidates in future Portuguese elections, press reports said on
Tuesday.
An equality law, originally vetoed, but which President Anibal
Cavaco Silva has now signed, states at least 33.3 percent of all candidates in
parliamentary, local and European elections must be women.
Socialist
Prime Minister Jose Socrates' government brought in the law with the aim of
involving more women in politics. Women currently have 21.7 representation in
parliament.
In June, Cavaco Silva vetoed the law, which had been adopted
by parliament. He said his reasons were that the sanctions for not reaching the
female quota were too harsh.
The government had decreed that all
electoral lists that did not reach the quota would be excluded from the
elections. After the president's veto, the sanctions were made less
stringent.
Now parties which violate the quota regulation are threatened
with not having their election campaigns costs refunded. Cavaco Silva has
accepted this amended version.
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