Podcast Romea.cz on Roma and the EP elections in the Czech Republic: Too few preferential votes for Romani candidates and their intense campaigns
News server Romea.cz has produced a detailed analysis of the outcome of the Czech elections to the European Parliament from the perspective of the Romani minority through a special podcast. Journalists, political analysts and representatives of the Romani community participated in the discussion.
The EP election results were assessed from a Romani perspective on Wednesday evening by the journalist Jarmila Balážová, political scientist Edita Stejskalová, former social worker Jan Houška and the founder of the “Be Heard” (Buď slyšet) initiative, Petr Banda. The podcast was moderated by the Editor-in-Chief of news server Romea.cz, Zdeněk Ryšavý.
VIDEO RECORDING
The podcast opened with the participants assessing the electoral gains for the Association of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) movement, the Spolu (Together) coalition of three of the five parties currently governing the Czech Republic, and new groups like the joint ticket of the Oath (Přísaha) and Motorists Unite (Motoristé sobě) parties. The controversy around the leader of Motorists Unite, Filip Turek, drew attention; he objected to the accusations about his tendency to use Nazi symbols and emphasized that he enjoyed the support of the Romani community.
Unfortunately, none of the Romani-profiled candidates in the Czech Republic – Ivana Batthyány (The Left – Levice), David Beňák (ANO) and Jaroslav Miko (Mayors and Independents – STAN) – were elected. Mention was made of the Romani candidate in Hungary, Bogdán Csaba, who could have been seated if the leader of the candidate list for the Tisza party had stepped down, but on Thursday it was reported that the leading candidate will be seated and Csaba is highly unlikely to become an MEP.
The discussants criticized the intense campaigns conducted by the Romani candidates in the Czech Republic and their teams, which resulted in online attacks on Romani journalists. The fact that the candidates themselves have not distanced themselves from such behavior was criticized.
Romani voter preferences and turnout remain a question that is difficult to answer, as the data from the socially excluded localities do not provide the full picture on Romani voting. The discussion outlined the need to persuade political parties to take Romani votes seriously and intensify their efforts to involve the Romani minority in their structures.
