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Portugal's parliament approved a law Thursday that seeks to increase the number of women in politics by stipulating that neither sex can take up more than two-thirds of any party's list of election candidates.
The law, which applies to national, European and local elections, also requires that no more than two candidates of the same sex can be listed consecutively to ensure that women get spots at the top of the ballot.
Lists which do not conform to these new rules will be rejected.
The law was passed by Socialist lawmakers -- who won an outright majority in parliament in elections last year -- and the tiny far-left Left Block, following a debate dominated by women lawmakers.
Deputies from the main opposition centre-right Social Democrats and the tiny right-wing Popular Party, who voted against the law, said the measure was discriminatory and candidates should be selected on merit alone.
There are currently 61 women in the 230-seat assembly. Three-quarters of the female lawmakers are from the ruling Socialists who have, since 2002, required that one-third of their candidates be women.
Socialist lawmaker Maria de Belem Roseira, a former Minister for Equality, said both genders need to be well represented in parliament because they have "a different way of seeing, understanding and evaluating."
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AFP 302001 GMT 03 06
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