The Association of Italians of Romania – RO.AS.IT. (; ) is an ethnic minority political party in Romania representing the Italian community of the country. The main objective of the organisation is to preserve the traditions and customs of the Italian community and promote the Italian language, culture, and history. It is supported by the Department of Interethnic Relations and the Italian Embassy in Bucharest. In 2014, it joined the European Democratic Party (EDP).
History
The party was established in 1993 in Suceava, Suceava County, Bukovina.Association Association of Italians of Romania It contested the 1996 general elections, but was beaten by the Italian Community of Romania (CIR), which retained the seat reserved for the Italian community in the Chamber of Deputies under the electoral law allowing political parties representing ethnic minority groups to be exempt from the electoral threshold only applied as long as they received 10% of the vote required for a single seat in the Chamber of Deputies.1996 Parliamentary Elections: Chamber of Deputies University of EssexDieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1585
The party contested the 2000 elections as part of the Italian Community of Romania,Case of Grosaru v. Romania, no. 78039/01, ECtHR (Third Section), Judgment (Merits and Just Satisfaction) of 02.03.2010, Reports of Judgments and Decisions 2010 Eurocases but ran separately in the 2004 elections and beat the CIR by 987 votes to win the Italian seat, with Mircea Grosaru becoming the party's MP. It has retained it in every election since. Following Grosaru's death in 2014, his son Andi-Gabriel became the party's MP.
Electoral history
ElectionChamber of DeputiesSenateVotes%SeatsVotes%Seats19969,8330.080–––2000Part of the Italian Community of Romania–––20046,1680.061 20089,5670.141–––20127,9430.111–––20163,4860.051–––20204,1700.071–––
See also
Italians in Romania
References
External links
Official website