SHARECountry Data
Georgia (Georgia) has a Unicameral parliament with legislated quotas for the single/lower house and at the sub-national level. 26 of 141 (18%) seats in the Sakartvelos Parlamenti / Parliament are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Unicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Sub-National Level? Yes
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? No
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Jan 18, 2023
Single/Lower House
Sakartvelos Parlamenti / Parliament
| Total seats | 141 |
| Total Women | 26 |
| % Women | 18% |
| Election Year | 2020 |
| Electoral System | Parallel |
| Quota Type | Legislated Candidate Quotas |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Electoral law | The procedures for compiling a party list for the parliamentary elections of Georgia to be held before the 26 October 2024 parliamentary elections of Georgia shall be determined by a political party or an electoral bloc in such manner that at least one person in each four on the party list submitted to the CEC chairperson is a representative of an opposite sex. The relevant electoral subject shall submit the party list to the CEC chairperson not later than 30 days before the Election Day. (Art. 203.2, Organic Law of Georgia, Election Code of Georgia). |
| Political funding legislation | ||
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Yes | If in the party list submitted by the electoral subject there is no gender balance established by this paragraph, the list shall be returned to the electoral subject and it shall be given three days to rectify the defect. If the defect is not rectified, the party list shall not be registered (Art. 203.2, Organic Law of Georgia, Election Code of Georgia). |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | A party receiving funding under this article shall receive a bonus of 30% of the basic funding if, in the election list presented by this party or by the relevant electoral bloc (in the case of local self-government elections, in all party lists) at the elections based on the results of which they received funding, at least 30% of female candidates are included in the first, second and every subsequent 10 candidates (Art. 30.7.1, Organic Law of Georgia on Political Associations of Citizens). |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | Yes | According to Georgian legislation, a political party, which based on the parliamentary elections held before 2028 gets public funding (Article 30 of Organic Law of Georgia on Political Associations of Citizens), shall receive an additional 30% of funding if, in the electoral list presented by this political party in the last parliamentary elections, includes one member of the opposite sex in each of three candidates. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | Yes, funding to women Yes, funds earmarked for gender activities | According to Georgian legislation, a political party shall use an additional 30% of public funding (Article 39(1) of Organic Law of Georgia on Political Associations of Citizens) for activities of the women’s organization. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
- Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Electoral law | The procedures for compiling a party list for the general municipal elections to be held before 2028 shall be determined by a party in such a way that at least one of every three candidates on the submitted list must be of an opposite sex (Art. 203.8, Organic Law of Georgia, Election Code of Georgia). For the general elections of the municipality bodies to be held before 2028, the relevant political party shall submit a party list to the chairperson of the relevant district election commission not later than the 30th day before the polling day (Art. 203.9, Organic Law of Georgia, Election Code of Georgia). |
| Political funding legislation | A party receiving funding under this article shall receive a bonus of 30% of the basic funding if, in the election list presented by this party or by the relevant electoral bloc (in the case of local self-government elections, in all party lists) at the elections based on the results of which they received funding, at least 30% of female candidates are included in the first, second and every subsequent 10 candidates (Art. 30.7, Organic Law of Georgia on Political Associations of Citizens). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Law on Political Unions of Citizens | If in the party list submitted by the political party there is no gender balance established by this article for the general elections of the municipality bodies, the list shall be returned to the party and the party shall be given three days to rectify the defect. If the defect is not rectified, the party list shall not be registered (Art. 203.9, Organic Law of Georgia, Election Code of Georgia). |
| Rank order/placement rules | No data available |
Additional Information
The new gender quota law– adopted following a failed attempt in 2018 – also was pushed by European countries; the EU-Georgia Association Agenda called for the country to “take active steps towards increasing women’s representation in political life and the decision-making process.". Georgia previously attempted to enlist more women by boosting state funding for parties that included women in their electoral slates, but that resulted in only 25 women being elected to the 150-seat parliament in the last elections, in 2016. In 2024, when Georgia transitions to a fully proportional system, that will mean that at least 37 seats in parliament will be set aside for women. Further changes will go into effect in 2028, when the one-in-every-four formula will be replaced by one-in-every-three, so that 50 seats will go to women (Eurasianet, 2020).
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens;
- Organic Law of Georgia, Election Code of Georgia
OTHER SOURCES:
-
Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU Parline Georgia
Additional reading
- Darbaidze, E., & Niparishvili, T. (2022). Great Expectations: Gender and Political Representation in Georgia. Journal of Geography, Politics and Society, 11(4), 37–45.
- Eurasianet, 2020, Georgia takes on male-dominated parliament with gender quotas, Eurasianet
- Letodiani, T. (2021). Gender equality policy in Georgia and challenges. Przegląd Politologiczny, (3), 105-118.
- Asian Development Bank: "Georgia. Country Gender Assessment" December 2018.
- IKNOWPOLITICS, 2020, Georgia takes on male-dominated parliament with gender quotas, IKNOWPOLITICS