German region tells parties - put equal numbers of men and women up for election

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Franziska Giffey, and members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Christine Bergmann, Rita Suessmuth, Manuela Schwesig chat before posing for a group picture during an event marking 100 years of women's voting rights in Germany, in Berlin, Germany November 12, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - The regional parliament of the German state of Brandenburg voted on Thursday to make political parties put an equal number of men and women up for elections.

The bill, proposed by the Green party and backed by the Social Democrats and the Left which govern the state in a coalition, makes Brandenburg the first German region to set such a gender rule. It comes into force in the second half of 2020.