Politics and gender in Guinea-Bissau: candidate selection across political parties

Abstract

Guinea-Bissau is among the countries in the world with the lowest women representation in Parliament. During the democratic period, which started in 1994, women´s representation in Parliament ranged from 7 per cent in 1994 to 13.7 per cent in 2019. Worldwide, the fight for greater rights for women has been a long-time struggle and the relationship between female representation and democratization process continues to enhance debates among scholars. In Guinea-Bissau, studies on women´s representation are almost nonexistent. This study seeks to examine how formal and informal selection processes influenced the choice of female MP candidates by the three dominant political parties (PAIGC, MADEM and PRS) for the 2019 elections. The research follows a mostly qualitative methodological approach, based on the collection and analysis of documents, as well as on interviews with MPs and MPs candidates, as well as with party leaders and other political actors. The analysis shows that the recruitment process was mostly carried out in an informal way. Despite the existence of formal selection procedures, informal filters were created to influence the selection process. As a result, none of the three dominant political parties complied with the 36 per cent quota of women´s on the lists, required by the 2018 Parity Law. The main obstacles for a higher women representation in Parliament are associated with preconceived biases and social values that decrease the chances for a woman to be voted. Consequently, parties tend to prefer to choose men over women for their electoral lists.