Disability Rights and Election Observation: Increasing Access to the Political Process

Abstract

ABSTRACTAccording to the World Health Organization and the World Bank, people with disabilities comprise approximately 15% of the world's population – however, these one billion people are often excluded from political life. Disability-inclusive election observation provides the opportunity to address barriers to political participation and to empower men and women with disabilities to serve in leadership roles. This paper will summarise the key international and regional standards that outline the political rights of people with disabilities and explore the extent to which International Electoral Observation Missions (IEOMs) are inclusive. It will review observation checklists, as well as available methodologies of IEOMs. Based on this review and the authors' election access observation experience, this paper will identify areas where inclusion of people with disabilities in election observation could be improved, thereby leading to increased access to the political process.