Ensuring that Roma and Sinti can participate meaningfully in elections requires sustained efforts to identify and remove the barriers they continue to face as voters, candidates and participants in public and political life. This was the message from participants at a Warsaw Human Dimension Conference side event organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
"These challenges remind us that legal guarantees alone are not sufficient. Full and effective participation also requires that we understand how electoral processes operate in practice, identify where barriers exist, and work systematically towards removing them," said ODIHR First Deputy Director Tea Jaliashvili.
The event marked the launch of ODIHR's new Handbook on Observing and Promoting the Participation of Roma and Sinti in Electoral Processes , developed jointly by ODIHR's Election Department and Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues. Drawing on ODIHR's longstanding election observation methodology and its work to promote the participation of Roma and Sinti in public and political life, the handbook provides practical guidance on assessing participation throughout the electoral cycle and identifying obstacles that may prevent Roma and Sinti from exercising their electoral rights on an equal basis.
Roma and Sinti continue to face a range of barriers to meaningful electoral participation. These can include discrimination and anti-Roma rhetoric, difficulties registering to vote and obtaining identification documents, pressure and vote-buying, limited access to voter information, and under-representation among candidates and elected representatives. Roma and Sinti women and young people may face additional and intersecting barriers to taking part in political and public life.
"Meaningful participation is not only about being able to cast a vote. Roma and Sinti need to have a real voice in political life, to stand as candidates, influence decisions and participate on an equal footing. We need to understand the barriers communities experience and ensure that their perspectives are reflected in how electoral processes are designed, assessed and improved," said Lucie Fuková, Roma activist and former Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs of the Czech Republic.
Intended for election observers, public authorities, Roma and Sinti civil society organizations, and other stakeholders, the handbook looks beyond election day to participation throughout the electoral cycle, covering the legal framework, voter and candidate registration, election administration, election campaigns, the media, voting and post-election follow-up.
Participants discussed how to put the handbook's guidance into practice through election observation, civil society monitoring, voter education, advocacy and follow-up to electoral recommendations. They also explored how institutions, civil society and other stakeholders can work together to ensure that the experiences and concerns of Roma and Sinti are systematically reflected in efforts to make electoral processes more inclusive.
