Democratic Turkish Union of Romania

The Democratic Turkish Union of Romania (Romanian: Uniunea Democrată Turcă din România, UDTR; Turkish: Romanya Demokrat Türk Birliği, RDTB) is an ethnic minority political party in Romania representing the Turkish community.

Democratic Turkish Union of Romania
Romanya Demokrat Türk Birliği
Uniunea Democrată Turcă din România
LeaderOsman Fedbi
Founded1 February 1990[1]
Headquarters44 Crisana str., 900573 Constanta
IdeologyTurkish minority politics
Chamber of Deputies
1 / 329
Senate
0 / 136
European Parliament
0 / 32
Website
www.rdtb.ro

History

The party was created in 1990 as a split from the Turkish Muslim Democratic Union of Romania (which subsequently became an organisation solely for Romanian Tatars), and was initially named the Ethnic Turkish Minority Union of Romania (Uniunea Minoritară Etnică Turcă din România, UMETR).[2] In the 1992 general elections the party received only 2,572 votes (0.02%),[3] but won a single seat in the Chamber of Deputies under the electoral law that allows for political parties representing ethnic minority groups to be exempt from the electoral threshold. In December 1993 it adopted its current name,[2] and has won a seat in every election since. The party also has representation on Constanța County Council.

The logo of the Turkish Democratic Union of Romania is a globe that is the symbol of the Turkish ethnicity (crescent and star), being framed at the bottom by two olive branches, symbolizing peace. At the base of the globe is the name of the Turkish Democratic Union of Romania, framed by the Romanian tricolour, representing the support that the Romanian state gives to the Turkish ethnic group for the preservation of the spiritual-cultural-religious identity.

Policies

The main objective of the party is to protect and promote the ethno-cultural, linguistic and religious identity of its members:

  • protection of ethnic identity, mainly language, literature, music, religion, traditions and material values;
  • the protection of their own settlements and cultural places;
  • maintenance of historical and architectural vestiges and monuments that mirror the past and sustainability;
  • free expression of Islamic religious faith;
  • developing a social protection system and development of social assistance programs of its members;
  • cultivation and development of traditional Romanian-Turkish friendship relationships;
  • promoting the image of the Turks with Romanian citizenship abroad.

Electoral history

Election Chamber of Deputies Senate
Votes % Seats Elected member Votes % Seats
19901Hogea Amat
19922,5720.021Ruşid Fevzie
19964,3260.041Osman Fedbi
20006,6750.051Metin Cerchez
20047,7150.081Iusein Ibram
20089,4810.131Iusein Ibram
20127,3240.101Iusein Ibram
20165,5360.081Iusein Ibram

Party presidents

TermPresident
1990–1991Sheriff Ziadin
1991–1994Talip Revan
1994–1997Fedbi Osman
1997–2001Balgi Ruhan
2001Asan Murat
2001Iusein Ibram
2001–2004Ibram Nuredin
2004–Fedbi Osman

References

  1. RDTU History
  2. History Democratic Turkish Union of Romania
  3. 1992 Parliamentary Elections: Chamber of Deputies Archived 2011-06-14 at the Wayback Machine University of Essex
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