A FORMER refugee has told how she is “proud” to be standing as a candidate in the Scottish Parliament elections.
Roza Salih, whose family fled to Scotland from Kurdistan, is the lead candidate on the Glasgow regional list for the SNP in May’s Scottish Parliament elections.
READ MORE: 'Glasgow Girl' Roza Salih aims to be first refugee elected to Holyrood
Salih, who would be the first former refugee to be elected to Holyrood, met SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon as the First Minister signed the Scottish Refugee Council election pledge.
The pair were out campaigning in Nicola Sturgeon's Glasgow Southside constituency this afternoon.
This year’s election will be the first time people with refugee status have been entitled to vote in the Scottish Parliament elections.
And the pledge, which candidates are being asked to sign, commits them to making Scotland a “welcoming place” and to “stand up for the rights, dignity, and protection of all people seeking safety and rebuilding their lives here”.
Salih, who previously campaigned against dawn raids on asylum seekers as one the Glasgow Girls group, said: “Scotland is at its best as a country when a broad diversity of voices are reflected at all levels of society.
“That’s why it’s absolutely vital that those who can register to vote do so now, especially as new legislation which ensures people can vote no matter where they were born, including those with refugee status, comes into effect.
READ MORE: Holyrood election 2021: SNP on course for majority as Tories fall back, poll shows
“While I am immensely proud of the progress the SNP has made to ensure Scotland is a country which welcomes and stands up for the rights of the people who want to come here, we know there’s still further to go.
“We should have a parliament that looks like the country it represents and that’s why I am proud to be standing for the SNP in this election, and proud that the SNP has taken steps to ensure that we have more diversity in our candidates.”
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