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- Ελληνικά
The Minister of Interior Mr. Constantinos Ioannou participated today in the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Equal Opportunities between Men and Women on the issue of the right to vote for matrilineal displaced persons in their Province of origin.
In the discussion of the Parliamentary Committee, the question was raised as to whether maternal displaced persons could be allowed to be registered on the electoral roll on the basis of their mother's place of displacement, by analogy with paternal displaced persons.
The Minister of Interior, in his statement, explained that the existing arrangement does not aim to create any discrimination on the basis of gender, but to distribute displaced voters equally between free and occupied areas. The aim, he noted, is to maintain balance in the electoral map.
He also expressed the Ministry's concern that any arrangement made would result in the redistribution of parliamentary seats across constituencies horizontally for all elections, varying the electoral map to the extent that it might not reflect the geographical dispersion of the electorate. Specifically, he said that in the long run, in about twenty (20) years, based on the existing data on the rate of registration of new voters, it is estimated that the vast majority of voters will be considered displaced, resulting in the loss of seats from the Free Provinces, to the extent that the distribution of parliamentary seats may not be representative of the electorate.
The Minister concluded by stating that the Ministry of Interior recognizes the need of the internally displaced persons to maintain their connection with their occupied villages and towns and that it is legitimate for them to feel the need to have the right to vote in the elections for Local Government Authorities of their occupied community or municipality, both for sentimental and substantive reasons.
Therefore, he quoted the recommendation of the Ministry of Interior that voters who are displaced by birth should vote in the elections for Local Government Authorities both on the basis of their place of displacement and on the basis of their place of residence, in line with those who are displaced by birth. The granting of the same electoral rights to matrilineal displaced persons is legitimate for purposes of equality, while this would not have any consequences between free and occupied areas, the Interior Minister added.
He noted, however, that in order to promote this change, which requires legislation, a dialogue with all political forces should be preceded. This, Ioannou said finally, would be more feasible after the upcoming 2024 elections, due to the many changes, peculiarities and complexities expected due to the reform of local government.
(EFYs)
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