People with disabilities comprise at least 15 percent of the global population, and approximately 80 percent of this population lives in developing nations. Yet they remain largely invisible to the decision- and policy-makers who design and implement government programs. To address these concerns, IFES is leading a series of initiatives to promote the electoral and political enfranchisement of people with disabilities in several different arenas. IFES is working in many countries to:
 

• Involve a cross-section of organizations of and for people with cognitive, developmental, and physical disabilities to foster partnerships among disability organizations, civil society and government;
• Remove barriers which prohibit the full participation of people with disabilities as voters and candidates through the collaborative work of individuals, organizations and government;
• Ensure that voters with disabilities are afforded their full rights as citizens, including their rights to vote and to serve in public office; and
• Develop global indicators and standards for electoral and political access.

IFES first began working towards the enfranchisement of people with disabilities in 1997, and has worked in more than 30 countries on disability programming. There have been many successful and on-going projects, including:

Global Initiative to Enfranchise People with Disabilities

In 1998, IFES launched www.electionaccess.org, the only global information resource devoted to the political and electoral rights of people with disabilities. The website includes a country-by-country review of constitutions, election laws, polling station manuals and other government laws and procedures to determine the extent to which these documents effect the electoral and political participation of people with disabilities. In addition, the website presents model programs in developing nations, ground-breaking research, articles, links and other resources.

Guinea: 2008-2010

In collaboration with local NGOs in 2008 through 2010, IFES worked to build the capacity of organizations focused on helping to enfranchise people with disabilities through educational programs, training in organizational management, improving media outreach, and promoting access to the electoral process. Through its current project, IFES is strengthening the ability of DPOs to promote the rights of people with disabilities by increasing DPO capacity to educate target communities on civic rights and responsibilities, the rights of people with disabilities and active citizenship.

Kosovo: 2006-2010

During the period of 2006 to 2008, IFES made recommendations to the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on how to increase participation in national and local elections by PWDs. As a result, the UN/OSCE Joint Registration Task Force worked closely with Handikos – a local disability organization – to encourage individuals with disabilities to participate fully in the civil registration process, conducting public outreach and information campaigns, and implementing field-based procedures to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. More recently, IFES’ 2009-2010 project provided technical support to the Association of Blind and Partially Sighted People (ABPSP) to vote independently and in secret by designing and using Tactile Ballot Guides (TBG) for the mayoral and municipal assembly election ballots, producing voter education braille booklets and audio cassettes, and facilitating donor funding relations.  IFES also supported voters’ education and training for the blind on voting procedures using the tactile ballot.

Philippines: 2009-2010

In preparation for the 2010 national elections, IFES embarked on a campaign to increase voter registration and turnout among vulnerable populations, including the disabled, in the Philippines. By supporting the efforts of local partners, election administration officials were educated on a human rights-based approach to elections. To increase suffrage access on election day, the COMELEC issued resolutions to facilitate the participation of people with disabilities, elderly, illiterate persons and detainees. On election day, numerous media reports confirmed the turnout of persons with disabilities, whose participation was facilitated by the implementation of express lanes and the provision of poll assistance. Through these efforts, IFES increased participation of the people with disabilities community in the electoral process, mobilized voters, and increased the capacity of local human rights groups.

 

Honduras: 2008-2010

IFES engaged in an electoral assistance project with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Honduras (TSE) for the November 2009 General Elections, which targeted enfranchising persons with disabilities. The TSE acknowledged the need to develop strategies to increase accessibility and higher participation of persons with disabilities in the political process, and with IFES’ assistance included a number of activities, such as facilitating the signing of an agreement between the TSE and three disabilities organizations to promote the rights of the disabled in the 2009 elections, training volunteers to assist disabled persons and the elderly in polling centers on Election Day and constructing mobile access ramps at polling stations nationwide, to increase access of enfranchised persons with disabilities in the electoral process. 

 

Indonesia: 2009

IFES has worked closely with Indonesia’s Disabled People’s Network to help advocate for disabled interests around the 2009 Presidential Election. IFES helped election administrators prepare election regulations and logistics with input from disability groups, as well as gather these groups to develop a strategic advocacy approach and materials to strengthen the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Indonesian political processes during and after elections. For the 2009 general elections, IFES assisted the Election Commission (KPU) by providing tactile ballots and is currently supporting the KPU and disability groups to jointly analyze the feasibility of new technologies to increase electoral access.

 

Armenia: 2003 - 2008

From January to June 2003, IFES supported efforts by Lusastgh Charity Union in Vanadzor to monitor the February and May elections. Election observers with disabilities were trained and deployed in five cities, and public information campaigns on radio and television highlighted their voting rights. In 2007, IFES’ technical assessment provided for an Electoral Access Action Plan to increase accessibility and participation of disabled populations. That year, the national parliament of Armenia adopted a law legalizing the use of the Tactile Ballot Guide as an officially-approved ballot, whereupon the Central Election Commission (CEC) issued regulations for the use of Tactile Ballot Guides (TBGs) and included sign language translations in its advertisements. Through 2008, IFES and a coalition of disabled people organizations (DPOs) continued to raise awareness on disability issues through a national outreach campaign, improving access to polling stations by building ramps and encouraging the use of "Speaking Books", and supporting equal rights legislation that complied with international standards.

MENA: 2004-2009

IFES, in partnership with disability experts and organizations from the MENA region, undertook a series of activities in Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen and Morocco to promote greater political and electoral participation of citizens with disabilities. In Lebanon, the Lebanese Physical Handicap Union (LPHU), as well as other NGOs, fought to ensure persons with disabilities could participate in elections through the “My Rights Campaign” and subsequent lobbying of Parliament. The resulting 2008 Election Law included all of LPHU’s recommendations to help guarantee such access. In Yemen, voter education targeted at persons with disabilities represented the first time such efforts were made toward this community and successfully increased participation in the 2006 elections. In Egypt, as a result of local organizations’ voter education and awareness campaigns, the Egyptian Human Rights Council committed to establish a Disability Committee, providing a unique opportunity in Egypt to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. In Morocco, IFES worked with the Collectif pour la Promotion des Droits des Personnes en Situation de Handicap – the largest and most active disabilities rights collective in the country – to create guides and conduct trainings on increased political participation of persons with disabilities, targeted at NGOs, political parties and government officials. Under this project, each nation made important strides in increasing access of the disabled in political and electoral participation.

 

Egypt: 2005-2009

IFES conducted the Raising Awareness about the Rights and Responsibilities of People with Disabilities project in Egypt from 2005 through 2007. The project began with a partnership between IFES and local disabilities rights group NAS that aimed to enhance the participation and visibility of Egyptians with disabilities in their communities through participation in Egyptian electoral processes and through educating civil servants, civil society and the general public about the importance of building an inclusive society.  In partnership with NAS, IFES implemented a series of targeted voter education and awareness-raising activities to highlight the rights and responsibilities of people with disabilities in political and public life and facilitate their enhanced participation in democratic governance, including the electoral process. In particular, the capacity-building components of the project were designed to strengthen the growth of a nascent network of Egyptians with disabilities and their organizations. 

 

Yemen: 2004-2009

In Yemen, IFES has conducted an assessment of the disabled community’s ability to participate in the political process, and made a series of legal and procedural recommendations. IFES also worked with local NGOs to conduct a series of voter education sessions and advocacy training for disability NGOs.

Lebanon: 2004-2009

In Lebanon, IFES worked with the Lebanese Physical Handicap Union (LPHU) to implement voter education sessions and a public awareness campaign on the rights of persons with disabilities to encourage participation and increase access in the 2005 and 2009 parliamentary elections. In the lead up to the June 2009 elections, LPHU worked with a local GIS company to map and codify all polling centers to measure their accessibility for persons with disabilities. LPHU then developed and printed booklets including a technical analysis of the mapping results at a national level. The project achieved its goal of collecting the data that would lead to improved accessibility to polling stations for persons with disabilities throughout Lebanon.

Nicaragua: 2006-2007

IFES provided technical assistance to the Supreme Electoral Counsel of Nicaragua (CSE) as it prepared to carry out the general elections in November 2006. Under this program, IFES provided direct technical assistance to the CSE to enfranchise persons with disabilities in the political process. IFES worked with the CSE to amend administrative regulations, include a disability component in training electoral officers, assist disabled voters at polling stations, promote the rights of disabled voters during public awareness campaigns, and provide material to observation groups about access to the political process for voters with disabilities. These efforts expanded the institutional capacity and cultivated the expertise of the CSE while mobilizing disabled voters and increasing participation in the elections.

Albania: 2003

IFES supported the efforts of the Albanian Disability Rights Foundation (ADRF) in monitoring and promoting PWD rights in the 2003 local and national elections. With IFES's support, the ADRF also conducted a media campaign to raise awareness about disabled issues. IFES representatives traveled to Albania to assist in the technical aspect of the election monitoring campaign.

Bangladesh: 2000-2002

IFES worked with Dhaka-based Action on Disability and Development (ADD) to recruit, train and deploy about 300 citizens with disabilities to serve as domestic election observers during the 2001 parliamentary elections. ADD also worked with other observation groups to ensure monitoring access for the disabled.  As part of its awareness campaign, ADD produced posters about the rights of disabled voters, and the Election Commission distributed them to 30,000 polling places around the country. ADD also developed two public service announcements on the same topic, which reached an estimated 39 percent of Bangladeshis age 15 and older. This effort, in coordination with the Asia Foundation, helped ADD make Bangladesh's elections more transparent and accessible, and spread public awareness of disabled rights.

Ghana: 2000-2002

During the nation's Presidential and Parliamentary 2000 elections, seventy-seven Ghanaian citizens with disabilities were trained and recruited as fully credentialed election observers. In 2002, IFES worked with the Ghana Association of the Blind and the Ghana Electoral Commission to design and test pilot a tactile ballot guide, to enable blind voters to vote independently and in secret. This ballot guide design was used as a model for similar ballots in Sierra Leone, Namibia, and Tanzania.