Campaigning as a Woman

The 2015 Bougainville General Election was significant for women’s political participation in Bougainville. It was only the third election to be held in Bougainville, and represented the greatest number of women candidates ever to stand. Thirty-five women contested, including 12 women who ran against men in open seats (the other 23 standing in the three seats reserved for women in the Bougainville House of Representatives). This election was also the first where a woman, Josephine Getsi, won in an open seat, bringing women’s political representation in the House of Representatives to 10 per cent. Several other women ran strong campaigns and learned much about what it takes to succeed in an election. The Candidate Debriefing Workshop gave women candidates the opportunity to talk about their experiences and their learnings from the 2015 Bougainville General Election campaign. This report focusses on the areas these candidates suggested as important for women to know in order to run effective campaigns. It draws on the candidate experiences to illustrate lessons, challenges, and strategies for overcoming them. It includes comments from candidates who attended the Debriefing Workshop, and case studies telling the campaign stories of five of the women candidates: Josephine Getsi, Rose Pihei, Joan Nenoari, Patricia Kapapal and Agnes Titus.