Roma Council calls for equal representation in Montenegro Parliament

Mensur Šaljaj, President of the Roma Council of Montenegro, has called for equal political representation for the Roma community in the Montenegrin Parliament. He highlighted that despite a population of 5,629 Roma in the country, the community lacks direct representation due to discriminatory electoral rules.

Šaljaj pointed out a significant discrepancy in the electoral threshold: while other communities with similar populations face a threshold of 0.35 percent, the requirement for Roma is double that, at 0.70 percent. He stated that the community is not seeking privileges, but rather the same rights afforded to others, and urged the Parliament to move beyond rhetoric to address these legal and systemic inequalities during upcoming discussions on the Law on Protection of Equality and Prohibition of Discrimination.