Georgia’s Public Defender opposes cancellation of gender quotas

The Public Defender of Georgia has opposed the cancellation of gender quotas, arguing it would undermine efforts towards achieving equality. 

According to Levan Ioseliani, ensuring the representation of women in the legislative body is crucial for addressing their needs effectively.In a statement released on Tuesday by the Public Defender’s office, Ioseliani emphasized that gender quotas serve as a “vital tool” in combating discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes against women, and fulfilling international obligations. 

He highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by women due to invisible barriers and stressed the importance of refining the mechanism of gender quotas as a means to overcome such barriers.

The debate surrounding gender quotas intensified as the Girchi opposition party introduced a bill to amend the Electoral Code. During a parliamentary bureau session on April 1, it was disclosed that negotiations between the majority leader Mamuka Mdinaradze and Girchi chairman Iago Khvichia resulted in an agreement whereby the majority would support the Girchi initiative in exchange for the latter endorsing a candidate acceptable to the ruling party during the election of the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC). 

Subsequently, the parliamentary majority endorsed the expedited consideration of the draft law during the bureau session.The proposed amendments will be deliberated in the first reading during the upcoming plenary session on Wednesday.