Gender and political representation in the de facto states of the Caucasus: women and parliamentary elections in Abkhazia

Abstract

This article examines if the reasons suggested for the relatively low percentage of women in parliaments across the former Soviet space can provide an explanation for the low, and deteriorating, percentage of women in the National Assembly of Abkhazia. In the 2012 election women’s representation in the de facto state of Abkhazia dropped from 11.4% to 2.8%, a fall from the highest to the lowest percentage of women in the parliament since 1991 in one election. This result can be explained as a consequence of Abkhazia’s political system, the strong presidency that dominates parliament, the limitations on the capacity of political parties to contest elections and the majoritarian electoral system that all negatively impact on women’s representation. Its single mandate district electoral system would make the application of gender quotas difficult, but in the case of Abkhazia it is the weak party system that creates additional barrier to promoting women candidates. The limitations on political parties mean that the gatekeeper role exercized by them in other polities is hardly present in Abkhazia and as a result social relations rather than the institutionalized practices within political parties dominate electoral competition at the constituency level to the disadvantage of women.