Roma people and persons with disabilities were under-represented at the general local elections of October 20. 10% of the country's population, represented by persons with disabilities and Roma people, were ignored, marginalized. An analysis conducted under the aegis of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, represented by several non-governmental organizations, showed that, from ballot to ballot, the objective of including these people remains unattained.
Victor Koroli, expert on inclusion policies for disabled people and executive director of Infonet Alliance, stated at an IPN press conference that 20 people with locomotor disabilities ran in the October 20 elections, of which only nine became local councillors, seven women and two men. In his opinion, the problem of the small number of elected persons with disabilities is that the parties placed these persons on the lists of candidates in ineligible places. Party offices, polling stations were also inaccessible to these people. Nor did the electoral competitors develop information materials accessible to persons with disabilities. The Braille format was not used for the visually impaired, although anyone could have done this. Only a few televisions broadcast electoral messages in the mimic and gesture language. The analysis of the candidates' electoral programs showed that people with disabilities were not a priority for them, said Victor Koroli.
Ion Duminică, an expert of the "Voice of the Roma" Coalition, mentioned that although 50 Roma people ran for councillors’ seats, only 12 people were elected as local councillors, six women and six men. None of them were elected as district / municipal councillor or mayor. Thus, says Ion Duminică, the degree of political representation of Roma people following this election remains unchanged, being similar to the previous ones. The expert maintains that there are several factors which impede the political representation of Roma people, one of them is the location of Roma in ineligible places on the lists of candidates. The settlements where the Roma live are scattered across different districts.
Alina Andronache, in charge of Public Relations and Advocacy at the Partnership Center for Development, has said that this group of people does not matter in the Republic of Moldova, their voice is not heard. The interests and rights of these categories of persons are not promoted through policies. Not all the conditions are provided to exercise their right to vote, to make their choice freely and correctly and to participate in an exercise guaranteed by the Constitution.
The report "How inclusive were the general local elections on October 20, 2019" was developed under the project "Civil society’s pleading for free and fair elections in the Republic of Moldova, in line with EU and OSCE / ODIHR recommendations and human rights commitments". The project is implemented by the East Europe Foundation, in partnership with the Partnership Center for Development, Piligrim Demo and Tarna Rom, funded by the EU and co-financed by Sweden.
