Radu Raicu, president of the Association of Persons with Disabilities “Egalitate”, proposes the Moldovan authorities should consider a minimum participation quota in elections for people with disabilities.

Raicu declared at a press conference on Wednesday that every adult, regardless of their medical situation, has the right to choose and be chosen. In recent years, the authorities instituted a gender quota of 40% to prevent discrimination against women and encourage them to participate in elections and in the decision-making process. “It is time for a representation quota for disabled people as well. It could be 10%, for example”, said Raicu.

We won’t be able to make the right decisions for people with disabilities without being in their shoes. Having a disabled person in the council, in Parliament, will be very helpful in this regard”, added the president of Egalitate NGO.

On another topic, Raicu noted that the right to justice is fundamental for the functioning of the rule of law. People with disabilities can enjoy fair justice by participating in court hearings, but these people do not always have physical access to courtrooms, because of the poorly adapted infrastructure: “there are no ramps, or they are unusable, or the doors are too narrow, or there are no lifts to go upstairs, you name it”. Another problem is that often there is no sign language interpreter in court, added Raicu.