Steven N.
The united opposition is in the final stages of putting together its joint party list for the election, and Béla Lakatos (pictured) spoke up about his dissatisfaction with Roma being mostly excluded from it.
Lakatos, chosen by opposition prime ministerial candidate Péter Márki-Zay as his cabinet leader for Roma affairs, expressed his disappointment on Facebook:
The candidate for prime minister asked you for something that, apart from Jobbik, you all publicly accepted during the debate for the prime ministerial candidate. Now, we Roma see no trace of this, and even Sándor Berki’s place among the first 45 spots is in danger, though we believed he would get into Parliament. I have to say that right now, apart from Péter Márki-Zay, this is not an important issue for any of the parties.
Berki is currently fourth on Dialogue’s party list, after Gergely Karácsony, Rebeka Szabó, and Olivio Kocsis-Cake. But since Karácsony will remain mayor of Budapest and not take a seat in Parliament, Berki will actually be third on the Dialogue list, which the party believes will guarantee him a parliamentary mandate.
Lakatos also pointed out that he had accepted that there would not be a seventh group in Parliament, but said that it would hurt the opposition’s credibility if they didn’t have Roma representation in Parliament.
Péter Márki-Zay stated last October that he wanted three Roma politicians in the top thirty spots on the joint opposition list. ATV has reported that a compromise is being put together on the issue to partially fulfil Márki-Zay’s request. Dialogue’s Bence Tordai left a comment on Lakatos’ post expressing his hope that the other parties in the coalition would also act responsibly in this matter.
The media has been reporting that the top 45 spots on the common party list will be split up accordingly:
- DK – 14
- Jobbik – 12
- Momentum – 8
- MSZP and Dialogue – 8 altogether
- LMP: 3 or 4
[Telex][Photo: Béla Lakatos / Facebook]
