The political inclusion of persons of Roma ethnicity ahead of the parliamentary elections of February 24 is at a very low level. There are practically no Roma candidates on the lists of electoral contenders and in constituencies. Also, no electoral runner directly addresses the problems faced by the Roma by their electrical platforms, shows a monitoring report prepared as part of a project implemented by East Europe Foundation.
In a news conference at IPN, study author Ion Duminică said that using the websites of election contestants and social networking sites, they counted 15 electoral meetings held in communities inhabited by Romanies. Only in Chetrosu village of Drochia district, a competitor staged a separate meeting with the Roma community, where this raised the problems faced by the Roma, and this because there is the only Roma woman serving as a local councilor there. No election runner directly addressed the problems of the Roma related to public health, education, labor market and housing through their programs.
The study reveals that 11 persons of Roma entity were members of initiative groups for collecting signatures in favor of candidates, two are trustworthy persons of contenders and another two are members of district electoral councils. The Roma became mostly involved in Parcani village of Călărași district, where 29 Romanies were named members of electoral offices of polling places. Three Roma ethnics are on the lists of election contenders running in the national constituency and no representative of the Roma runs in single-member constituencies.
Ion Duminică called on the parties to be more inclusive and on the central public authorities to ensure the increased participation of the Roma ethnics in all the spheres of life. “The political inclusion is the main instrument for integrating the persons of Roma ethnicity. Social inclusion without political inclusion is not possible,” stated the expert. The study author reminded that the political inclusion forms part of the international recommendations stipulated in conventions of which Moldova is a party.
The expert recommended the authorities to take measures to ensure the representation of the Roma in the governmental bodies and to agree the mechanism for taking such measures together with Roma civil society, which is represented by the Coalition “Voice of the Roma”.
In 2010, a sociopolitical moment of the Roma competed in the parliamentary elections and gained 0.5% of the vote.
The study was carried out between January 21 and February 15, 2019.
