Party Nomination and Legislative Gender Quotas in the 2020 Local Elections in Ukraine: The Case of Rivne Regional Council
Party Nomination and Legislative Gender Quotas in the 2020 Local Elections in Ukraine: The Case of Rivne Regional Council

Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes the impact of legal gender quotas on party policies regarding the positioning of candidates on electoral lists for the 2020 local elections in Ukraine, and voters’ reaction to this. This research utilizes a unique dataset on elections to one of Ukraine’s self-government bodies (Rivne Regional Council) because the Central Election Commission of Ukraine does not publish detailed data on the results of local elections. The 2020 local elections in Ukraine showed that the introduction of legislative gender quotas did not fully work because political parties demonstrated gender bias by nominating predominantly male candidates for viable positions. The difference between the share of women candidates and the share of women deputies did not increase significantly in favor of women deputies compared to the 2015 local elections in Ukraine. In addition, voters did not show a gender bias, and, in most cases, were guided by political parties’ proposed order of candidates. The article contributes to the understanding of gender dynamics in local elections in Ukraine under a new electoral system.

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