We feel justified. We wish we could also vote for them…
Read the announcement of the Greek Forum of Migrants - GFM, related to the elections of May 2019:
Press release
Athens, 23 May 2019
We feel justified. We wish we could also vote for them…
More than half a million people, for decades, are struggling to create their own lives in Greece. The migrant works and pays his taxes, municipal fees, insurance contributions and fees for residence permits every 3 or 5 or 10 years. The migrant creates a family, raises children, creates healthy businesses, culture, collectivities, recruits people in his business, collaborates with people, consumes, builds, has active civic participation, except ... for the elections.
These hundreds of thousands of people, as it is written in the constitution, have no right to vote - let alone "run" as candidates, in any electoral process which is taking place in our country. Not even in municipal elections that directly affect them. They do not have the right because of the constant changes of the criteria for Greek citizenship or because their citizenship is still pending.
The right to vote, -a primary right of every citizen living in a democracy, it is given to the migrants as a gift, only and after they "ascend" the calvary of acquiring Greek citizenship, and they survive bureaucracy, complexity of the process and racism that accompanies it.
Nevertheless, times are changing. Today, in 2019, after so many changes in the law, which are implemented with great difficulty, only a few thousand people can participate in the elections. This is the first time, for a small group of young people, but also for first generation migrants who managed to get Greek citizenship, to vote or to "run" in the elections. At last, these people can equally exercise the self-evident right to democracy - for the majority of Greek society, their right to vote.
As the Greek Forum of Migrants, we are proud and feel justified about the candidates who "run" for the first time in the elections that are coming. Those of us who can, will support them. The rest, unfortunately, who are a migrant majority, we cannot vote for them. We think that vote is power. So let’s vote for those who cannot.
Greek Forum of Migrants (union of 42 migrant communities)
Read below some of the candidates running for the elections 2019 (central lists of the EU elections, Municipality of Athens and Piraeus elections 2019):
EU ELECTIONS
Άχμετ Μουσταφά, ΚΚΕ
Μισέλ (Μιχάλης) Αμμάρι, Πράσινοι-Αλληλεγγύη
Γκέμη Έντα, ΚΙΝΑΛ
Κούνεβα Κωνσταντίνα, ΣΥΡΙΖΑ-Προοδευτική Συμμαχία
Μουχαμέντι Γιόνους, ΣΥΡΙΖΑ-Προοδευτική Συμμαχία
Μπάνι Στέλλα, ΛΑΕ
Πομάσκι Ιγκόρ, ΚΚΕ
Σαγιέντ Αχμάντ, Έλληνες ριζοσπάστες
Σλίμπι Άιμαν, Πράσινοι-Αλληλεγγύη
Μουσταφά Τσολάκ Αλή, ΑΝΤΑΡΣΥΑ
Χρουμπ Γιόζεφ, ΚΙΝΑΛ
MUNICIPALITY OF ATHENS and PIRAEUS
Αλαμπάντλα Γιασίν, Ανταρσία στις γειτονιές της Αθήνας
Καμπά Λαμίν, Ανταρσία στις γειτονιές της Αθήνας
Αντιλιάν Κοτζάι, Ανοιχτή Πόλη
Γκρέις Μινέκε, Ανοιχτή Πόλη
Εμμανουέλα Ραπούση, Ανοιχτή Πόλη
Μάριαμ Σακίμπ, Αθήνα Ψηλά
Τζαγκίρ Χουσέιν, Ανταρσία στις γειτονιές της Αθήνας
Έμιας Τζάνι, Αθήνα είσαι εσύ
Ανδρέας Χότζα, Ανοιχτή Πόλη
Ντέντια Κρίστι, Πειραιάς για όλους
Κώστας (Σαϊμιρ) Στάθης - Πειραιάς για όλους
Σκέρντι Αγκάλλιου, Δύναμη Ζωής - Ρ .Δούρου
Χάσαν Άχμετ, Δύναμη Ζωής - Ρ. Δούρου
Μαρία Καλαγκμπόρ - Τσιόμα, Ανεξάρτητη Αυτοδιοίκηση Αττικής - Γ. Σγουρός
Ραού Καρίμ, Δύναμη Ζωής - Ρ. Δούρου
