The Living Inclusion Network hosted yet again another successful inclusion café on September 18th, 2024. In light of the so called “super election year” 2024, the focus this time was on the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in electoral processes. The cafe was therefore aptly themed “The Super Election Year 2024: Participation without Barriers? – Let’s talk about elections and disability inclusion worldwide”.
Our panel of three incredible speakers from India, Kenya, and Indonesia came together to share their experiences and discuss this topic from different country perspectives. Giving an enriching input on the achievements, challenges, and ways forward on disability inclusion and elections, our speakers highlighted the following:
- Smitha Sadasivan, disability consultant to the Election Commission of India, shared the achievements and challenges of disability inclusion in the Indian General Elections 2024. In her presentation she emphasised the good practices that were applied to ensure accessible elections for all. She explained how voting centres were made accessible not only for persons with physical disabilities but also for people with sensory disabilities. Often, the focus is on physical disabilities because it is the most visible. Therefore, addressing accessibility across different types of disabilities in this year’s election has been a success. Smitha pointed to the continuous challenge of and need for disaggregated data that more reliably incorporates disability and the aspect of intersectionality.
- Judge Monica Mbaru, gave insights into the barriers faced by candidates with disabilities in the electoral process in Kenya, illustrated by examples of current court cases. She highlighted the strong need for addressing barriers faced by persons with disabilities in all areas of the election – in voting, in standing for election (or having stood but not being put forward), and in post-election procedures as well as dispute resolutions. She gave examples of court cases where persons with disabilities had to fight for the right to participate as candidates in the electoral process and retain their elected position. She also spoke of her own efforts to positively influence attitudes by paying attention to and correcting biased and discriminatory language and terminology in court proceedings.
- Yeni Rosa Damayanti, Disability and Women’s rights activist, focused on the often-overlooked topic of voting rights for persons with psychosocial disabilities in Indonesia. She shed light on how challenging it is for people with psychosocial disabilities in and outside institutions to participate in these processes because of negative attitudes and the loss of their legal capacity. In her presentation she lamented the role of media in reinforcing those negative stereotypes and emphasised their opportunity to tackle them. Yeni and her organization have led the fight for persons with psychosocial disabilities both in institutions and out of institutions for more than 10 years. Even though they have succeeded in removing the ban for persons with psychosocial disability from voting in elections, there is still a long way to go in achieving full political participation.
After an enriching panel discussion and Q&A session, participants stayed for a networking session where they were able to exchange further on the topic and forge new alliances. Events like the inclusion cafe are important to have, to foster discussions, learning and collaboration.
If you would like to join our next inclusion cafe and be part of the discussions and exchange, we invite you to SIGN UP and join the network!
Article by LIN Team
