October women will be crucial in the political process, winning candidate says

Shafaq News/ The Emtidad movement candidate who won a seat in the Iraqi parliamentary election, Naysan al-Zayer, said that women will play an essential role in the political process in Iraq.

In a statement to Shafaq News Agency, al-Zayer said, "the October revolution has produced a conscious generation apart from gender and age. The October MPs will play an efficient role in the upcoming political process and bolstering women via legislating laws that secure their rights."

Female candidates running for the parliamentary election have secured 97 seats out of 329 (29.4%), a record high in Iraq's history.

In a press release issued earlier this month, the Iraqi Women Empowerment Department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers said, "according to the preliminary analysis of the election results, Iraqi women managed to win 97 seats, an increase of 14 seats over the quota for women, including two winners from minorities, while these results showed that 97 women won. its voting power without the need for a quota."

The statement called on all women to "continue efforts to participate in the various stages of the political process and decision-making, and to pay attention to women’s issues and legislation that would guarantee their rights and enhance their position in society."

The women's quota system in Iraq means guaranteeing at least 25% of parliament seats for women in order to achieve female representation that the Iraqi constitution is keen to establish.