Ivorian immigrant elected into Italian parliament

An Ivorian immigrant, Aboubakar Soumahoro, has become the first black man to be elected into the Italian lower chamber.

Soumahoro, an Italian-Ivorian activist, was sworn into the parliament on Wednesday after winning a seat in the 400 member Lower House on the platform of the Green and Left Party in the September 25 national election.

He is one of the few non- Italian to have been elected in the country’s history.

In a chat with journalists after he was sworn in, Soumahoro recalled that he came to Rome as a 19-year-old teenager in 1999, saying he was shocked by the harsh reality of migrant life in a country he had idolised.

He said: “Sleeping rough in the streets was traumatic, especially when I realised that this was the result of a political decision that targeted the migrants.”

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Now an Italian citizen, the 42-year-old said he has a unique opportunity to reshape decision-making affecting migrants from within parliament.

The African said he hopes to make his mark from the opposition ranks while facing a conservative coalition that has promised to crack down on asylum seekers.

“One thing I will try to do is make sure that no one ends up living in the streets like me. People need to be treated as human beings regardless of what passport they have.

“I do not want to represent just one part of society. I want to make sure that everyone, both the dispossessed and those who struggle to make ends meet, can recognise themselves in what we do,” he added.

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