The Affirmative Action Bill Coalition (AA Bill Coalition) says it will galvanize support, especially from women, for political parties that demonstrate a commitment to passing the Affirmative Action Bill in the lead-up to the election year.
The draft Affirmative Action Bill has not been passed for several years, despite repeated assurances from successive governments.
Speaking to Citi News on the sidelines of a dialogue with political parties on the Affirmative Action Bill, the convener of the AA Bill Coalition, Sheila Minkah-Premo, indicated the group’s goal of encouraging stakeholders to vote for political parties that pledge to prioritize the passage of the bill.
“We are working towards making it a critical issue in elections because I think that we have to organize key stakeholders including women and those who also want to see inclusion to try to push it to make it an issue around the election. That is, we will urge women to vote for the party that would give us strong assurance that this law will be in place and will be implemented in full.”
Ms. Minkah-Premo further called for expedited action from all stakeholders to ensure the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill in the lifetime of the 8th Parliament.
“I think that we need to step up on the advocacy and do a little bit more intense and aggressive advocacy since there is a draft bill which is in a fairly good state so that it will be passed in the eighth parliament.”
