Doom and Gloom or Positive Signs?

Doom and Gloom or Positive Signs?
A Re-Appraisal of Strategies to Increase
Women’s Representation in Pacific
Parliaments
Jon Fraenkel
Australian National University
Women in Pacific Parliaments November 2008
Size of
Legislature
French Polynesia
New Caledonia**
Niue
Guam
Cook Islands
Fiji*
Wallis & Futuna
Samoa
Kiribati
Vanuatu
Tonga
Marshall Islands
Papua New Guinea
Bougainville
American Samoa
Comm. Northern Marianas
Nauru
Palau
FSM
Solomon Islands
Tuvalu
Average
Average for IPU states
Number of
Female
Members
%
57
54
20
15
24
71
20
49
46
52
33
33
109
(40)***
20
20
18
16
14
50
15
30
24
4
3
3
8
2
4
3
2
1
1
1
(3)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
52.6
44.4
20.0
20.0
12.5
11.3
10.0
8.2
6.5
3.8
3.0
3.0
0.9
(6.1)
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
778
508
89
20
11.4
3.9
* Fiji figure is for pre-2006 coup parliament. ** Figure needs updating from 2006.
*** Including the President (41 including the Speaker).
Pacific Islands Electoral Systems
Acronyms
AV – Alternative Vote
BV – Block Vote
MBC – Modified Borda Count
SNTV – Single Non-Transferable Vote
TRS – Two Round System
LPR – List Proportional Representation
(FPP)
(BV)
(FPP)
(FPP/BV)
(FPP)
(MBC)
(AV)
(TRS)
(FPP)
(BV/FPP)
(FPP/BV)
(SNTV)
(FPP)
(FPP/BV)
(AV)
(LPR)
(AV)
(LPR)
(BV)
New Caledonia
15 Seats in Congress
(Majority Kanak)
32 Seats in Congress
(Minority Kanak)
7 Seats in Congress
(Overwhelmingly
Kanak)
New and
Caledonia’s
Territorial
Congress,
2004
Votes
Seats in New
Caledonia’s
Provincial
Assemblies & Territorial Congress, 2004
Votes % Congress Seats %
Seats
Southern Province
Front National
Avance
Rassemblement UMP
FCCI
Mouvement des Citoyens Calédoniens
UNI FLNKS
Union Calédonienne
Calédonie mon pays
L'Avenir Ensemble
Union Océanienne
MCDCC-UMP
Rassemblement Océanien dans la Calédonie
FLNKS pour l'Indépendance
Patrimoine et l'Environnement avec les Verts
11.2
1.2
31.2
0.8
2.1
4.6
3.4
2.2
33.9
1.4
2
0.8
3.8
1.6
100
4
0
13
0
0
0
0
0
15
0
0
0
0
0
32
12.5
0.0
40.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
46.9
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
100.0
The Law says
Party lists need
to alternate Men
& Women
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Man
Woman
Man
Women
Woman
Man
Woman
Man
Woman
Etc down
to 15.
Northern Province
UNI FLNKS
Entente Française du North
Union Calédonienne
FCCI
LKS-KAP Identité Nord
Rassemblement UMP
L'Avenir Ensemble
Calédonie mon pays Mwâdihin
MCDCC-MP
Loyalty Islands
UNI-Iaaï-Dréhu-Toka Nengoné
LKS Kap Identité Îles
Union Calédonienne
Construire Ensemble l'Avenir
FCCI-FULK
Rassemblement UMP
UC Renouveau - Unir et Construire
MCDDC-UMP
Grand Total
37.5
2.7
27.1
5.7
1.7
11.4
8.5
3.4
1.9
100
7
0
5
0
0
2
1
0
0
15
46.7
0.0
33.3
0.0
0.0
13.3
6.7
0.0
0.0
100.0
16.3
15.7
22.5
7.1
8.9
17.2
11.2
1.2
100
1
1
2
0
1
1
1
0
7
54
14.3
14.3
28.6
0.0
14.3
14.3
14.3
0.0
100.0
Man?
Man?
Man?
Man?
Man?
The Mystery of why the number of
women in parliament fell after the
introduction of the law on Parity in
Wallis & Futuna (20 seats)
Lists
Parties with
More than 1
Seat
1992
29
2
1997
34
1
(Introduction of parity law)
2002
32
1
2007
26
0
Number of
Women elected
1*
2
1
2
But these
at top of
lists.
Political Parties across the Pacific
A. Party systems
- Fiji, New Caledonia, French Polynesia
B. Quasi-Party systems
- Samoa, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands? Kiribati?
PNG? Solomon Islands? Cook Islands?
C. Party-less Systems
- Nauru, Tuvalu, FSM, Palau, Wallis & Futuna,
Tonga, Niue.
What can be done in non-party or
quasi-party settings?
1. Appointment/nomination
2. Presidential systems – where executive
not selected from legislature
3. Best loser system – multi-member
constituencies, only part of the country.
4. Reserved seats – as in Bougainville.
How Bougainville’s system works?
Figure 1; Composition of the House of Representatives after the 2005 Elections
to the Autonomous Government of Bougainville
41 Members
President
3 Seats
for women
33 directly
elected members
1 Vote
1 Vote
1 Vote
Voters (4 Votes)
1 Vote
3 Seats
Speaker
ex-combatants
1 Vote
Some Concluding Questions?
• Why is the share of women in the top positions of the
civil service often so much higher than that in the
legislature?
- Can we establish what the position is across the Pacific? Ie CEOs/secretaries/permanent secretaries, plus e.g.
(in some countries) Clerk, Chief Secretary to Cabinet, Sec to GG, etc. [not SOEs]
• Are strategies for advancing the position of women more
likely to be effective at the local government level rather
than the national level?
• Should we focus solely on parliament or also on cabinet?
- see Pollard/
- See FSM (also New Caledonia/French Polynesia)
- Presidential systems?
Provisional Table ……..
Share of women in Top Ranks of the Civil Service, November 2008
Women in Total TopShare of
Top-ranked ranked
Women in
Positions
Positions
Legislature
in Civil
in civil
Service
Service
%
%
Solomon Islands
6
27
22.2
0
Kiribati
6
14
42.9
6.5
Samoa
3
12
25.0
8.2
Tuvalu
3
20
15.0
0