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EU to name seven ‘safe’ countries for asylum returns

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The European Commission plans to classify Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia as "safe third countries of origin,"...
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MEPs and Ukrainian lawmakers reaffirm commitment to shared European future

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EU to tighten rules on foreign investment screening

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MEPs head to Washington DC to strengthen transatlantic relations

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European Parliament condemns human rights violations in Cameroon, Iran, and Belarus

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Remembering Bucha: justice Is the foundation of true peace

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Commission approves 47 strategic projects to strengthen EU raw material supply

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EU to name seven ‘safe’ countries for asylum returns

EU to name seven ‘safe’ countries for asylum returns EU to name seven ‘safe’ countries for asylum returns
The European Commission plans to classify Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia as "safe third countries of origin,"...
Read More...

Belgian army launches cybersecurity hub in Bruges

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  The Belgian army is expanding its cyber capabilities with a new cybersecurity department in Bruges, located on the campus of Howest University...
Read More...

MEPs and Ukrainian lawmakers reaffirm commitment to shared European future

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  In a virtual meeting on Tuesday, senior members of the European Parliament and Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada reiterated their strong support...
Read More...

EU to tighten rules on foreign investment screening

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  The European Parliament’s International Trade Committee has approved updated rules to strengthen the EU’s approach to screening foreign...
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MEPs head to Washington DC to strengthen transatlantic relations

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A delegation from the European Parliament is set to visit Washington DC from Wednesday to Friday for high-level discussions with members of...
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European Parliament condemns human rights violations in Cameroon, Iran, and Belarus

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On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted urgent resolutions addressing serious human rights abuses in Cameroon, Iran, and Belarus, highlighting...
Read More...

Remembering Bucha: justice Is the foundation of true peace

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At an event in Kyiv marking the third anniversary of Bucha’s liberation, European Parliament Vice-President Martin Hojsík stressed the urgent...
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EU Commission to invest €1.3 billion in AI, cybersecurity, and digital skills

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  The European Commission has announced a €1.3 billion investment to support critical digital technologies that are vital to Europe’s...
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Commission approves 47 strategic projects to strengthen EU raw material supply

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Fiji's recent election in December 2022 marked a milestone in the country's democratic journey, with a coalition government led by Sitiveni Rabuka, a former prime minister, coup

leader, and military commander, promising to get rid of controversial laws that restricted basic freedoms. However, the election also saw a significant decrease in women representatives, with the number of women in the Fiji Parliament dropping from ten out of 51 MPs (19.6%) to six out of 55 (10.9%). This decline in women's political representation has significant implications for Fiji's fragile democracy.

Despite concerted efforts to widen the space available for women in politics, the setback in women's representation has occurred. The women's movement in Fiji has ramped up its public advocacy campaigns to encourage more women to exercise their right to vote and run for office. The Fiji Women's Forum was established in 2012 by a coalition of women's organizations to promote the goal of increased women's political participation. Women are seemingly well-represented in senior party positions across Fiji's political landscape. However, women are still under-represented as parliamentarians, and part of the issue may lie with the electoral system.

Under Fiji's open-list proportional representation (PR) system, electors cast a vote for an individual candidate, and party candidates' personal vote shares are then pooled to determine the number of seats the party has won. In previous elections, a "coattails" effect has been observed, with women (and men) candidates coming into parliament on the back of a strong vote share by the party leader, despite small personal vote shares themselves. In 2022, the major party leaders - Bainimarama and Rabuka - dominated the vote share again, but this did not translate into access for women candidates. With a more fragmented result than previous elections and an increase in the number of parties winning seats in parliament, the opportunities for women appeared to decrease. This highlights the open-list PR system's lack of safeguards for gender diversity.

The decline in women's political representation highlights the enduring power of Fiji's masculinized political system - exemplified by the election itself, with the two major party leaders both male ex-military commanders and instigators of coups. In his inaugural speech, the Speaker of Fiji's Parliament highlighted the male dominance of Fiji's political sphere. There is urgent and important work to be done to increase the number of women standing for, and being elected to, parliament.

The decline in women's political representation suggests a democratic deficit that complicates the story of Fiji's 2022 election. Now that Fiji's coalition government has assumed office and is promising a new era of politics, ensuring that women's rights are fully integrated into the transitional institutions and reforms being implemented is more important than ever. Equal rights for women cannot be an afterthought but rather should be an integral component of these new beginnings. Photo by Fijiisparadise, Wikimedia commons.

deneme