Since 2013, since the establishment of the position of community mediator in localities populated mainly by Roma, the civil servant working in this position could not run for local elections for the position of councillor. Currently, national legislation qualifies the two positions - community mediator and local or district councillor - as incompatible. Community mediators say this legislative ban violates the rights of Roma people to become more actively involved in solving community problems. A draft law is currently before parliament to amend the law on the status of local elected representatives. If passed, the ban will be lifted and community mediators will also be able to hold elected office. At present, a community mediator works in town halls in localities with a compact or mixed Roma population, helping the community to solve social or educational inclusion problems. According to the law, however, the community mediator cannot also have the status of local elected representative. Varvara Duminică, who gave up her position as a councillor in favour of community mediator, has felt the effects of this legal loophole first hand. She was hired in 2013 as a community mediator for Roma people in the village of Chetrosu, Drochia district. Two years later, in the 2015 local elections, she was also elected as a local councillor. Thus, for a while she held both positions at the same time, which helped her a lot, and her work gave concrete results, or, all Roma children in Chetrosu were educated. Varvara mentions that as a local councillor she brought some important projects to the community. But early last year, the National Integrity Authority (ANI) found that Varvara Duminică had violated the legal regime of incompatibility of functions. According to the ANI act, she should have resolved the incompatibility by resigning from one of her positions. Forced by circumstances, she resigned as a local councillor, opting to remain as a community mediator. She is convinced that this provision restricts the right of Roma people to be active and involved in local decision-making. A legislative loophole that prevented 20 community mediators from participating in local elections According to Valeriu Caldararu, executive director of the National Association of Community Mediators, this legislative loophole discouraged several Roma people who were working as community mediators from participating in the elections. He says 20 of the 34 community mediators in the country intended to participate in local elections, but the law did not allow them to do so. For his part, Nicolae Radita, Prime Minister Ion Chicu's adviser on human rights and interethnic relations, said community mediators could run in elections for both local councillor and mayor, but once they got the mandate, they had to give up one of their positions. He said that the Justice Ministry had approved an amendment to the Law on the Status of Local Elected Officials, which proposed to exclude the incompatibility between the office of local or district councillor and that of community mediator in compact or mixed Roma-populated localities. The amendment was also endorsed by the Government. If the draft is approved by Members of Parliament, the incompatibility of functions, mentioned in Article 7 of the Law on the Status of Local Elected Officials, will no longer affect the position of community mediator, and they will be able to defend the rights of communities as local elected officials. The most active involvement of Roma people in community life is mentioned in the Action Plan for the Support of the Roma Population in the Republic of Moldova for 2016-2020, which provides for concrete actions to eliminate discrimination against Roma people and to involve Roma communities in public life, in decision-making and in solving problems affecting them at various levels. According to the Framework Regulation on the organisation of the work of the community mediator, the role of this official is to facilitate the access of Roma people to social assistance, education, health care, employment, documentation, improvement of living conditions, other services in case of need. Have your fundamental rights and freedoms been violated? Call the free "Hotline" 080080030 from landlines or mobile phones and we will help you to be heard and refer you to the relevant public institutions. Lilia Zaharia, Independent Press Association