In 2009, Uruguay passed a law that promotes the participation of women in political elections (Law No. 18476 of April 3, 2009). The law includes an obligation to include people of both sexes in each third of the electoral lists for party conventions, party leadership bodies, parliament and departmental boards (Article 2 of Law No. 18476).
Organic Electoral Law, Code of Democracy (2009)
As an affirmative action measure, Article 165 provides that in the proclamation of elected authorities, when there is a tie for the last seat, and the tie is between candidates of different sexes, the seat shall be awarded to the woman. This law promotes equal representation in nominated and appointed public service positions, management and decision-making bodies, as well as political parties and movements.
Section 17(4B) of the Electoral Act 1997 introduced a provision aimed at addressing a significant disparity in the sex of members of parliament in Ireland (“TDs”). Only 15.1% of TDs elected in 2011 were women. The figure has never exceeded 20%. The 2012 Act tried to solve this problem via candidate selection; it tied the level of political funding allocated to a political party to the gender balance of its candidates.
