Egyptian non-governmental organizations and political parties have urged for the amendment of the elections law in a manner that allows an equal representation of women in the parliament and local councils.

Head of women’s union in Egypt, Hoda Badran, said in a meeting with political forces that it is necessary to unite the vision of the new elections law to ensure women’s access to a reasonable percentage of parliamentarian seats.

Former Minister of International Cooperation, Fayza Abul-Naga, pointed to the importance of exercising pressure to attain the demands of women.

She stressed on the necessity of utilizing the strong participation of women in voting in presidential and parliamentary elections and the last referendum.

Abul-Naga added that “women have a fundamental role and their presence is pivotal,” proposing a survey on the number of women who already participated in the referendum in order to raise their awareness of the next phase.

Meanwhile, head of the National Council for Women, Mervat al-Talawi, submitted the council’s vision for achieving an adequate representation of women in elected councils, demanding that the new election law stipulates a quota for women of no less than 30 percent.

She referred to Algeria’s elections law which has won 145 seats for women in the parliament.

Talawi insisted upon the necessity of forming a lobby for women, especially in light of their political participation that dazzled everyone, pointing out that the council will work on increasing women’s awareness of the importance of the upcoming parliamentary elections whether to run or vote.

She said that the main disadvantage of the previous election law was that it did not provide for an adequate representation.