MOSCOW, March 13 (Sputnik) — The presence of women among the potential parliamentarians from the Joint List, an alliance of four Arab-majority parties, will boost female participation in the upcoming Israeli elections, Aida Touma of the Hadash party told Sputnik on Friday.
"The presence of two female candidates who are guaranteed seats in the parliament will be an incentive for women to participate in the elections and will attract more women to vote, especially those who still do not take part in the voting process," the politician said.
Touma, who is the fifth candidate for the upcoming Knesset elections, added that a higher percentage of women are likely to take part in this year's election to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, than the last one.
Israel will hold the 20th elections to the Knesset on March 17.
In January, the Arab-dominated Hadash, Balad, the United Arab List, and Ta'al parties, signed a cooperation agreement in response to a law passed last year, which increased the 2 percent electoral threshold to 3.25 percent.
