Participation in Election and Representation
in Democratic Institutions:
What Leaders with disabilities Should Know and Do
Mosharraf Hossain
Country Director
ADD International Bangladesh
Voters with Disabilities in the World
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How many Voters with Disabilities are there in the World
• There are 12 m voters with disabilities in Bangladesh
• 550 to 600 m voters will disabilities are there in the world
• They are not aware of their political rights,
• Political parties and polling officers do not believe they can franchise
their voting rights
• Without ensuring participation of persons with disabilities, no
election is free or fair
• “Nothing about us without us” is myth without representation in
democratic institutions and participation in public lives
As voters, persons with disabilities face
some key challenges
• They were left out from the voter list.
• The electoral law does not ensure secrecy of
visually impaired voters,
• Accessibility for physically challenged people and
• Communication for hearing impaired people
• It also excludes the mentally ill and intellectually
disabled from exercising voting rights in elections.
Aims of the Presentation
• Highlights Barriers faced by people with disabilities in
franchising voting rights
• Measure to promote participation in elections
• Representation in democratic elections
• Tools and techniques to run for political rights
Reasons for not Franchising Vote
• Improper voter registration:
– Families fail to register persons with disabilities, especially women
– Registration officials also fail to inquire and to give due importance;
– some persons with disabilities are not included in the voter list.
• People with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities are not
registered as voters or allowed to vote in many countries
• Physical circumstances that excluded from the voting process:
– Inaccessible polling booths,
– long queues and
– lack of secrecy of ballot mean
• Election organizers – polling officers and law enforcing agencies
have little knowledge about rights of voters with disabilities
Accessible Elections: the Legal Frameworks
Article 29 (a) UN CRPD measures include:
• Ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and
materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to
understand and use;
• Protecting the right of persons with disabilities to
vote by secret ballot in elections, and to stand for
elections, to effectively hold office and perform all
public functions at all levels of government,
• Allowing assistance in voting where necessary by a
person of one’s own choice.
Awareness and Citizen’s Action
• Awareness of voters with disabilities as well as of the society
is the key for participation in the elections.
• Both the voters and the society should recognize that vote is
the right of the citizens with disabilities.
• The awareness of polling officers, party agents and law
enforcing agencies is necessary to ensure participation of
disabled voters.
• In the last two parliament elections, the training program
increased understanding of civic and political rights as a
citizen of the country.
• Public Service advertisement on voting rights of persons with
disabilities in the television and radio created mass
awareness
Poster with accessible polling stations and
giving priority to voters with disabilities
Election Observation
Two basic issues mentioned in Bangladesh electoral law to
ensure that voters with disabilities can vote. Election
observers watched and reported on:
• Whether voters with disabilities, elderly and pregnant
voters got priority to be put in front of the queues to cast
their votes?
• Whether visually impaired and other voters with
disabilities who required assistance had the right to
choose their own assistant?
Wide range of people’s participation ensures fair election,
accessible election ensures free election
Advocacy with Election Commission
Election commission ensures access by taking the measures:
• Law enforcing agencies will assist voters with disabilities to
enter the polling station and guide them to find polling booths
• Allowed voters with visual loss to cast vote by the assistant
• Polling booth will be at low level so that wheelchair users feel
ease to give vote.
• The Election commission ensures separate queues in every
polling station for persons with disabilities, elderly people and
pregnant women.
Representation in Democratic Institution
• The civic awareness program not only encouraged disabled
voters to exercise their voting rights, but also increased their
aspiration level to run for seats in the democratic institutions.
• Article 29 of UNCRPD states that States Parties shall
guarantee to persons with disabilities political rights …to
stand for elections, to effectively hold office and perform all
public functions at all levels of government.
• ADD International supported 80 leaders with disabilities
contested in the election of local government in 2003
• In 2012, 50 leaders contested local government election.
How many policy makers with disabilities are
there in the World?
Representation in Democratic Intuitions
• Local Government
• City Corporation
• Parliament Election
• Intergovernmental organizations
USA
India
Bangladesh
How many policy makers with disabilities are
there in the World?
MPs with disabilities in the Parliament of
Uganda
Running for Political Office
• Unless we have critical number of representations in
democratic institutions, we cannot influence policies that
affect lives
• Article 29 of UNCRPD states that States Parties shall
guarantee to persons with disabilities political rights …to
stand for elections, to effectively hold office and perform all
public functions at all levels of government.
• ADD International supported 80 leaders with disabilities
contested in the election of local government in 2003
• In 2012, 50 leaders contested local government election.
Leaders with disabilities should know
• What is politics?
• “Who” you are?
• You should know yourself – research about
yourself
• Why you are running for office?
• Knowing your district and constituencies?
• You should thoroughly know your
opponents – research on opponents
What you should do to win the race
• Design campaign plan and set up organization
• Develop message and theme of the campaign
• Set up press office and develop relation with
media including social media for campaign
• Fundraising plan/drive to support the campaign
• Set up field office, recruit staff
• Schedule the time and advance the candidate
• Coordinated action from canvass to Go Out To
Vote (GOTV)