Election 2018 – LMP wants more women lawmakers in parliament

The green opposition LMP party wants a stronger representation of women lawmakers in parliament and has therefore fielded eight female candidates among the top 20 on its national list for the April 8 general election, a lawmaker said on Friday.

Women still account for merely 10 percent of Hungarian MPs today, a proportion unchanged since the democratic transition of 28 years ago, Erzsébet Schmuck told a press conference, adding that the government includes no female member at all.

With its rate of female lawmakers, Hungary ranks rather low not only in Europe, but occupies the 158th place on a global scale, she said, calling the situation a “shame”.

Schmuck said the situation in central and eastern European countries is much better, with women account for 28 percent of MPs in Poland, and 20 percent in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, respectively.

She further noted the examples of Iceland, Sweden and Finland where the proportion of women lawmakers is above 40 percent.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTi