The unionist segment is very important, especially because the dimensions of this segment expand. “We have a pronounced unionist segment. For us, it is important for the citizens with unionist views to be sure that this segment in elections will not be dispersed. The possibility of having discussions is necessary so as to see exactly the perceptions of the leaders of these parties, what they can offer the citizens so that these are not disappointed,” director of the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT) Igor Botan stated in the public debate “Starting positions of political parties and potential independent candidates on unionist platform before an electoral year”, which was the 82nd installment of the series “Developing political culture by public debates”, staged by IPN News Agency.
Igor Botan, who is the standing expert of IPN’s project, said that representatives of parties from the same segment should exist in the election campaign that starts with the registration of candidates and these should clearly tell the people what they will do to avoid the dispersion of votes. “It will be a pity for citizens with particular views and expectations to ascertain after the elections that they will not have a representative in the supreme body,” he stated.
“The unionist parties lay different emphases, but it would be strange to have two unionist candidates in one consistency. In the national constituency, the parties have maneuvering space and can discuss other variants too. Even if the unionist segment expands on the social dimension, there are parties that have foundations working for them and these do things that parties should not do. This is voter corruption and such things should be penalized by law,” stated Igor Botan.
The expert noted that one should make a distinction between immediate unionism promoted by civic unionist movements, within which it is hard to speak about cooperation between unionists and Europeanists, and unionism from a medium perspective, where there is place for the two fronts to discuss and create a common platform to coordinate efforts and identify candidates with the biggest chances in single-member constituencies.
Igor Botan noted that the key goal is for all the unionist parties to have a common platform and reach a compromise so that the voters do not ultimately become disappointed. There are people who want the union with Romania, but those who manage political institutions regrettably cannot achieve a consensus.
The public debate “Starting position of political parties and potential independent candidates on unionist platform before an electoral year” is the 82nd installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are organized with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
The next debate entitled “Starting position of political parties and potential independent candidates before an electoral year” will take place in the conference hall of IPN News Agency on November 27, starting at 2pm. This will involve representatives of the Eurasian dimension of the political landscape.
