A total of 34 islandwide women’s rights organisations, collectives and movements, including those from Mannar, Mullaitivu, Ampara, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Puttalam, and Vavuniya, have written to the Election Commission (EC), urging the fulfillment of the 25% legally mandated women’s quota of political representation in Local Government (LG) authorities in terms of the allocation of seats, following the conclusion of the Polls on Tuesday (6).

The letter noted thus: “Women were visibly active in all aspects of the electoral process – contesting, and featuring on reserve lists. Many experienced women from previous LG bodies chose to contest, either through party endorsement or independently when denied nominations. These Elections mark a promising increase in women securing votes and re-entering or entering local politics. 

“However, the fragmentation of seats – with many small parties securing only one or two seats – has made fulfilling the ‘one woman for every three seats’ requirement more complex. Past trends show reluctance from parties to nominate women, even when the threshold is met, and in previous elections, some LG authorities failed to meet the 25% quota entirely, citing ‘hung seats’ as justification. 

“According to the 2017 Amendment to the Local Authorities Elections Act, the EC is legally obligated to ensure that the 25% women’s quota is fulfilled. This includes using the proportional representation list to compensate for women not elected via the first-past-the-post system.

“The EC must strictly enforce compliance, ensuring that every LG body includes at least 25% women, including young women. In cases where a party secures two seats, the EC should insist that at least one be allocated to a woman. Political parties that fail to comply should be held accountable. Ultimately, it is the EC’s legal and ethical duty to enforce the women’s quota and uphold gender representation in local governance”.