Commissioner for Protection of Equality, Brankica Jankovic gave recommendation to all municipalities and cities to take measures and activities to ensure greater participation of women and young people in all spheres of political and public decision-making at the local level, bearing in mind the upcoming elections at all levels.

Jankovic reminds that the Commissioner’s analysis showed that in the political and public life of Serbia, women are not sufficiently represented at the regional and local level, where, for example, only 12 of them were mayors, only 14 percent of women were presidents of municipal/city  assemblies, only 19 percent of women were members of municipal / city councils, while only 7.1 percent of women were local community presidents. Also, the results of a recent survey conducted by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality show that only 1.8 percent of young people are at the position of mayor, that there are no young people in the position of mayor or city, and that only 5 percent of councilors are in assemblies of municipalities and cities belong to the category of youth.

The implementation of this recommendation in the election year is an opportunity to have more women at all levels of decision-making, which, together with the recently adopted amendments to the Law on the Election of Deputies which envisage 40% of women on the electoral lists, will be a big step towards strengthening the position of women in politics at all levels and their impact on policy-making that is relevant to all citizens. At the same time, the participation of young people in creating of community according to their needs will be one of the ways to prevent them from leaving the country, concludes Brankica Jankovic.