Elections and People with Disabilities

The access of people with disabilities to vote in elections is an extremely critical human right issue!

The Covid-19 pandemic helped improve accessibility to information and communication in Nepal, but upcoming election barriers are rolling back gains for thousands of voters with disabilities.

A democratic election is a celebration since it reinforces democracy and incorporates the principle of inclusion. People with disabilities in Nepal, however, often feel neglected and excluded. This is because the government and its agencies have failed to make the electoral process accessible to them. This deprives them of their participation in the franchise, their fundamental right guaranteed by the country’s constitution and laws.

International law aims to ensure the same rights for people with disabilities as for others. However, they often encounter social, legal, and, most importantly, practical barriers in claiming and enjoying their rights. Among the many challenges that people with disabilities face in Nepal is discrimination and marginalization, which persist even when they want to exercise their fundamental right to vote.

This is a result of the lack of awareness among people regarding the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. Most people don’t even know its existence.

It was in May 2010 that Nepal ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol, a treaty that protects the rights of all people with physical, auditory, psychosocial, visual and intellectual disabilities.

Article 1 of the CRPD defines people with disabilities as people who have “long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others”. According to Article 12 of the CRPD, states must "recognize that people with disabilities have equal legal capacity as other citizens in all aspects of life" and according to Article 29, they must respect people with disabilities' political rights.

Article 29 clearly states that “voting procedures, facilities and materials must be appropriate, accessible and easy to understand for use by people with disabilities”. The article requires states to ensure that voting facilities and materials are “appropriate, readily available, and easy to understand and use.”

However, Nepali authorities offer very limited to no accessible information for people with intellectual, visual, and hearing disabilities. Electoral materials are not presented in accessible formats such as audio, Braille, large print, sign language, and easy-to-read. Videos on the website are not accessible to people with hearing and visual disabilities.

In most cases, the election commission uses school buildings as polling places, but many of them are not accessible. It places many ballot boxes on the second floor of buildings without elevators. A mobile voting station, an electronic voting station, or a postal voting station do not exist.

When it comes to getting to the polls, people with disabilities sometimes need assistance. When that assistance comes from political party members, they sometimes try to influence how the person votes. Concerns about privacy arise when some voters need help getting to the ballot box or filling out their ballots.

Furthermore, under Article 29, state parties have the duty to promote an environment in which people with disabilities can participate in the conduct of public affairs on an equal basis with others, including through the activities of non-governmental organizations, and forming and joining organizations of people with disabilities.

It also underlines the importance of accessibility and reasonable accommodation, stating that voting must be “fully accessible to all people, irrespective of disability, and that voting information is provided in all accessible formats” and that elected officials with disabilities should be “provided with all required support, including personal assistants.”

Nepal's Constitution 2015 also states that people with disabilities and other marginalized communities have the right to participate in State bodies based on the principle of inclusion. Nepal’s election laws also say that separate queues should be available for voters with a disability or illness, the elderly, pregnant women and new mothers. Moreover, the law provides that people with disabilities may be accompanied to the polls by a polling official, or an immediate family member permitted by the polling official.

According to the Act Relating to Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2017, people with disabilities are entitled to run for office on an equal basis as others. They are also entitled to vote voluntarily, with or without support. Polling processes, materials, and facilities will be accessible, understandable, and usable by people with disabilities if the Government of Nepal takes appropriate measures.

YES to a democracy that is free, fair, inclusive and accessible! Accessibility to vote matters.

Everyone has the right to participate in the government of their country, either directly or through freely chosen representatives. An inclusive, healthy, and resilient democracy requires the participation, inclusion, and representation of people with disabilities. It is increasingly difficult for people with disabilities to vote because of the barriers they face at every turn. It may be difficult for them to get out into their communities because of a health condition or their polling places may not be accessible. In order to make the electoral process more disability inclusive and equitable, here are seven recommendations:

The Election Commissions should implement an accessibility checklist for the organization of polling stations. As part of this checklist, polling stations should be monitored in order to ensure accessibility criteria are met to the full extent of their abilities.

To make voting more convenient, polling stations should be set up at convenient locations, avoiding locations requiring stairs or steep climbs. We must fully enforce the policy allowing special transportation for people with disabilities and the elderly during Election Day.

Voter education should be made more inclusive, including through the development and dissemination of voter education products in accessible formats targeting all types of people with disabilities. Voter education should target family members of people with disabilities.

In order for the Election Commission to prepare appropriate accommodations before Election Day, voter lists should contain disaggregated disability data. Assisting people with autism, intellectual disability, or multiple disabilities in registering to vote via mobile devices should be the responsibility of the commission.

Voters should have more space to mark their choices on ballots with larger symbols. The font size of instructions must also be increased. A braille or tactile ballot, or a voting guide, should be introduced by the commission.

Inclusion and access to political and electoral processes must be supported by the families of people with disabilities. In their campaigns and operations, political parties and candidates must prioritize disability access and inclusion for people with disabilities. The media should provide accessible information for people with disabilities, using disability-friendly language.

Polling staff and volunteers must be trained in disability accessibility and sensitivity. Specially trained staff or volunteers should be assigned to assist people with special needs, including professional sign language interpreters for deaf voters. There should be at least one poll worker with a disability per polling station hired by the Election Commission.