Representatives of the Party “Democracy at Home”, which pleads for Moldova’s union with Romania, said the current election campaign didn’t ensure equal chances and didn’t focus on the real problems faced by different groups of people. In a news conference at IPN, the party’s president Vasile Costiuc said the persons with disabilities were ignored by the politicians and the government during the last few years. In this election campaign, most of the competitors didn’t debate problems experienced by persons with disabilities and solutions to them.
Corneliu Baran, who runs on behalf of the Party “Democracy at Home” in the national constituency and who is a person with locomotor disabilities, said he decided to run for MP because he embraces the unionist ideals and considers that the union with Romania, which is an EU member state, is a chance for ensuring better living conditions for persons with disabilities. “The persons with disabilities want to enjoy equal chances to study, to work and to become involved in politics and in all the areas. During all these years, the politicians of all ranks promised they will solve the problem of accessibility for persons with disabilities, but almost nothing was done,” stated Cornel Baran. He noted that in the current campaign he faced barriers related to infrastructure as most of the state buildings are not accessible. “When I went to obtain the integrity certificate from the National Anticorruption Authority, my colleagues had to carry me in their hands up to the functionary’s office.”
Dumitru Focșa, a person with locomotor disabilities who supports the Party “Democracy at Home”, said harsher penalties are needed for the non-observance of the legal norms on accessibility. In Romania, he saw how a police officer imposed fines of 1,000 Romanian lei for parking in places intended for persons with disabilities. This group of people also face such problems as limited access to jobs and to state institutions and public areas.
Ion Leașcenco, who runs for MP on behalf of the Party “Democracy at Home”, said Romania made considerable progress in improving the conditions for persons with disabilities as it is an EU state and is obliged to implement and respect the European norms concerning the conditions of accessibility for persons with disabilities. The union with Romania is the only chance for creating European conditions for all the people as the Republic of Moldova during the next 25 years does not have prospects of joining the European Union.
