Agency: Ethnic minorities to be represented in Romanian parliament

Rompres news agency
2 Dec 04

Bucharest, 2 December: Twenty-eight organizations and associations of
ethnic minorities registered in the parliamentary electoral race in
Romania, with the polls held on 28 November, further to the acceptance
by the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) of the logos and lists and
supporting signatures presented by them, daily Nine O’Clock says on
Thursday 2 December .

Since the beginning of the registration of the electoral process, BEC
has rejected the requests of several minorities’ organizations to
participate in the parliamentary election. Among them there are the
Szeklers’ Union of Romania, the Association of the Slav Macedonians of
Romania, the Ethnic Association of the Russians in Romania. They could
not participate in the polls, as the minorities that they allegedly
represent are not mentioned in the latest census. The BEC members also
turned down the registration of the Cultural Union of the Albanians in
Romania, which submitted a list with only 36 of the 72 signatures
required from supporters. The lists of sympathisers of the Hungarian
Civic Union (UCM) were referred to the Prosecutor’s Office to verify
if the signatories are members of the Hungarian ethnic group, as BEC
noticed the existence of several Romanian names on the lists. Further
to verifications, the decision was made not to accept UCM to take part
in the election. In exchange, two other organizations in a similar
situation, the Association of the Italians in Romania and the Cultural
Union Association of the Poles, do participate, the daily adds.

>From a political point of view, the national minorities are
represented in parliament, are part of the ruling process and are
consulted by the government. Article 5 (2) of the Romanian
constitution stipulates: “The organizations of citizens of ethnic
minorities, which do not meet in the election the required number of
votes to be represented in parliament, have, each of them, the right
to one deputy seat, as the electoral law says,” daily Nine O’Clock
reports.

In Romania, there are several parties and organizations of the
national minorities, and the ones below are represented in parliament:
Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania, Democrat Forum of the Germans
in Romania, Rroma Social Democratic Party, Union of Serbs in Romania,
Union of Armenians in Romania, Democratic Union of Turkish-Moslem
Tartars in Romania, Democratic Turkish Union in Romania, Union of
Ukrainians in Romania, Cultural Union of Ruthenians in Romania, Union
of the Poles in Romania-Dom Polski, Democratic Union of the Slovaks
and Czechs in Romania, Bulgarian Union in Banat/Romania, Lippovan
Russians Community in Romania, Federation of the Jewish Communities in
Romania, Union of the Croatians in Romania, Association of the
Macedonians in Romania, League of the Albanians in Romania, Greek
Union of Romania, Italian Community of Romania.