On December 30, Liliana Palihovici, a member of the Women’s Democracy Network’s (WDN) Moldova country chapter and deputy chairwoman of the Liberal Democratic Party was elected deputy speaker of the Moldovan Parliament.

In conjunction with her appointment, Palihovici along with WDN members and parliamentarians Valentina Buliga, Democratic Party; Corina Fusu, Liberal Party; and Galina Balmos, Communist Party, drafted a joint statement calling for the equal representation of women in parliament. They presented the statement during the first parliament session on December 28.

The women also decided to establish a women’s parliamentary caucus in the Moldovan Parliament. To support the caucus, the WDN country chapter will focus on building partnerships between the caucus and other women leaders to advocate for a public policy agenda for women.