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 Crișana Street, 900573 Constanța
IdeologyTurkish minority politics
National affiliationNational Minorities Parliamentary Group
Chamber of Deputies
1 / 329
Senate
0 / 136
European Parliament
0 / 32
Website
www.rdtb.ro

History

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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, including in the 2020 general elections, when it received 0.06% of the vote.[4] The party also has representation on Constanța County Council.

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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

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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

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Election Chamber of Deputies Senate
Votes % Seats Elected member Votes % Seats
1990 1 Hogea Amat
1992 2,572 0.02 1 Ruşid Fevzie
1996 4,326 0.04 1 Osman Fedbi
2000 6,675 0.05 1 Metin Cerchez
2004[5] 7,715 0.08 1 Iusein Ibram
2008 9,481 0.13 1 Iusein Ibram
2012 7,324 0.10 1 Iusein Ibram
2016 5,536 0.08 1 Iusein Ibram
2020 3,540 0.06 1

Party presidents

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

References

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  1. ^ RDTU History
  2. ^ a b History Democratic Turkish Union of Romania
  3. ^ 1992 Parliamentary Elections: Chamber of Deputies Archived 2011-06-14 at the Wayback Machine University of Essex
  4. ^ "Alegeri Parlamentare 2020 – Camera Deputaților". rezultatevot.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "Uniunea Democrată Turcă din România", Camera Deputaților, retrieved 2021-06-17
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