Women on electoral lists, in the shadow of men

The number of women on the lists of the main parties in the country remains only slightly above the 30 percent gender quota, as stipulated by law. Vetëvendosje has the highest percentage of women on the June 7 electoral list, while the Democratic Party presents the lowest level of gender representation.

In the June 7 elections, 917 candidates are running for 120 seats in the Kosovo Assembly, of whom 603 are men and 314 are women. The number of women on the parliamentary lists of the main parties in Kosovo remains only slightly above the 30 percent gender quota required by law.

Vetëvendosje, last year had 36.36% women on the list, while this year this percentage drops slightly to 33.64%. The Democratic League shows a small positive movement: from 28.18% women in 2025, it reaches 29.09% in 2026, although it still does not cross the legal threshold. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party presents the lowest level of gender representation. Last year it had 26.36% women, while this year the percentage drops to 23.38, showing a regression in the inclusion of women in politics.

Another challenge for women on the electoral lists is their ranking on the lists, which continue to be dominated by men. Vetëvendosje has only four women candidates in the top ten, the Democratic League has five, and the Democratic Party only two women candidates.

"On average, a candidate spends about 12 thousand euros on the election campaign, but these amounts have gone up to 30 thousand and more due to digital presence and presence in the media, or meetings. There are huge costs for transportation and the expenses are increasing every day," said Albert Krasniqi from Demokraci Plus.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to undermine their political voice, women MPs face a high level of virtual violence and misogynistic attacks, a situation that reflects a tense political climate where women in politics are often among the most frequent targets of various attacks. This remains one of the reasons for women's hesitation in political competitions.

"Online violence, a very toxic environment, and hate speech about how the crowd views a male candidate compared to a female candidate," Krasniqi added.

Despite small advances in gender representation, women's representation in politics continues to remain more of a structural challenge than real equality in the electoral race./RTK