Record number of women elected as MPs and included in the list of candidates for the 2021 Parliamentary Elections

Four political parties competed for elections included women on the top of their list of candidates. Likewise, women held almost 28% of the top five positions in the candidate lists of electoral competitors. All data are available in the Gender Profile of the 2021 Parliamentary Elections, launched today at the event entitled “Democracy of elections in Moldova after 30 years”, organised by the Central Electoral Commission and the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training, with the support provided by UNDP Moldova and USAID Moldova.

The study compares the data on women and men participation in electoral processes as voters, candidates, electoral officials and observers, with the relevant data of previous ballots.

1,477,574 voters (53.09% of those included in the voters’ lists) cast their vote. Amongst the people present at polls, 53.48% were women. The 56 – 70-year-olds were amongst the most active and numerous voters, as their turnout exceeded 70% of their age group, making up almost 30% of the total number of people who participated in elections.  

The 18-year-olds amounted to 15,770, representing almost half of the 18-year-old people included in the voters’ lists. As for the 18 – 25-year-olds, more than 41% of those included in the voters’ lists cast their vote, accounting for 8.04% of the total number of people present at polls.

The turnout rate in the rural area reached 43.7%, of whom 53.3% were women. In the urban area, the turnout rate amounted to 63.5%, of whom 53.3% were women.

The number of diaspora participants in the 2021 early Parliamentary Elections reached 212,145, of whom 51.7% were men. Comparing with the 2019 Parliamentary Ballot, 135,544 more people participated in the 2021 elections.

More women than men were engaged in organising and holding the elections. Hence, men accounted for 34.7% of the District Electoral Council (DEC) and for almost 18% of the Precinct Electoral Bureau (PEB) members. In comparison with the 2019 Parliamentary Elections, the number of women holding the position of DEC Chairperson increased. Thus, in 2019 women held 41% of such positions, while in 2021 – 54.05%.

The Electoral Code amendments adopted in summer 2019 were implemented during the 2021 early Parliamentary Elections, namely observing a minimum representation quota of 40% for both women and men in the lists of candidates of political parties, as well as candidate placement in the list according to the formula: at least four candidates out of every 10 positions.

The Gender Profile for the 2021 early Parliamentary Elections has been conducted in the framework the UNDP “Enhancing democracy in Moldova through inclusive and transparent elections” project, with the American People support provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

UNDP also supported the Gender Profile carried out for: 2014 Parliamentary Elections, 2015 Local General Elections, 2016 Presidential Elections, 2019 Parliamentary Elections, 2019 Local General Elections and 2020 Presidential Elections.