The National Consensus Commission has circulated the full draft of the July National Charter 2025 to political parties, outlining key proposals regarding women’s representation in parliament.
According to the draft, the current provision of 50 reserved seats for women in parliament will remain unchanged. The 17th Constitutional Amendment, which extended the tenure of reserved women’s seats by 25 years until 2043, will also stay in force.
However, the charter introduces a new mechanism to gradually ensure one-third representation of women in parliament. Each political party will be required to nominate at least 5% women candidates in the upcoming general election. In subsequent elections, the quota for women candidates must increase by an additional 5% each time until the 33% threshold is reached.
The proposal, outlined in Article 24 of the draft charter, specifies:
- From the next general election, all political parties must nominate a minimum of 5% women candidates in the 300 general seats.
- In every subsequent election, the number of women nominees must increase by at least 5%.
- This incremental process will continue until women constitute at least 33% of all nominated candidates.
- The existing reserved women’s seats under Article 65(3) of the Constitution will remain effective, with the tenure extended to 2043 under the 17th Amendment. However, if political parties achieve the 33% target before that deadline, the reserved seat system will be repealed ahead of schedule.
The draft aims to institutionalize women’s political participation while gradually phasing out dependency on reserved seats, ensuring a permanent space for women in mainstream electoral politics.
