News

In 2020, Winnie Naiga, a now 27-year-old Ugandan woman with a psychosocial disability, decided to run for the position of youth councilor in her Village Youth Commitee.   I wanted to fight for those people who don’t have a voice, for people who have problems. I really wanted to change ...

You were the first person appointed as the Commissioner for rights of persons with disabilities in Ukraine. How the creation of this position has changed the access of persons with disabilities to the political process?   The Office of the Presidential Commissioner for Rights of Persons with Disabilities was established ...

Leonida Ponomaryova, 28, is a scholar and civic activist with a visual disability. She is also an alumna of the unique Liderka (which translates to “woman leader”) School for Political Leadership for Young Women with Disabilities and a newly elected member of the Kyiv Oblast Council.   In 2019, the ...

I was quite honored, and I feel like having a person with a disability on the panel was very important because a lot of these programs benefit us; I was so happy to share what we go through, especially girls and women in Guyana. - Gabrielle McKenzie While Gabrielle McKenzie ...

One out of every seven people in the world has a disability, yet citizens with disabilities remain under-represented in political and public life. Participation of persons with disabilities in government institutions, public policy, and legislation provides the basis for promoting equality in all aspects of society by breaking down social stigmas ...

Reuben Mpatiany, is a 26-year-old advocate from Kenya and belongs to an Indigenous community. He is the founder of Narok Albinism Association, which works closely with young people with disabilities as well as the general population of persons with disabilities by partnering with other organizations to empower young people to ...

Participants of the South Asia Regional Disability Rights Dialogue on Political Participation (SARDRD), organized by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), provided insights into barriers and advocacy efforts a year after SARDRD. Responses were collected via email ...

The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC) is an American organization focused on increasing equal opportunities for persons with disabilities, namely by strengthening the capacity of Independent Living Centers, which are community facilities that assist in coordinating independent living services for persons with disabilities.    CFILC has an active ...

Two new mobile apps have been developed that expand resources for voters with disabilities in South Asia. These apps break down informational barriers and provide opportunities to participate in the election process.   DIVE   The Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP), a disability rights organization in Pakistan committed to mainstreaming ...

During Myanmar’s historic general elections in November 2015, the Myanmar Independent Living Initiative (MILI), a disability rights organization based in Yangon, worked to ensure that the elections were also the country’s most accessible and inclusive elections to date for persons with disabilities. In the post-election period, and with support from ...

A new publication by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Equal Access: How to Include Persons with Disabilities in Elections and Political Processes, provides governments, civil society and the donor community the requisite tools and knowledge to promote the participation of persons with ...

Brikena Avdyli has been part of the IFES Kosovo team for over three years, serving as the focal point for the Kosovo inclusion project. She currently serves as Project Officer for Election Support and Public Outreach, where among others she also works towards inclusive electoral processes. Brikena has a master’s degree in international development ...

For Deaf Libyans, language barriers are a profound challenge to full participation in political life. In Libyan elections – as in many elections worldwide – speeches, voting materials and other essential electoral information are not translated into sign language. This creates an alarming gap in access to information for Libyan ...

By Inclusion International    Around the world people with intellectual disabilities continue to be denied their right to political participation. They are denied the right to vote; excluded from processes to make themselves heard by governments. Their voices are ignored; their messages about the world they want unheard. People with ...

Written by Alan Wall and Brikena Avdyli, International Foundation for Electoral Systems   At the 2014 National Elections in Kosovo, the disability community was widely engaged in election observation for the first time, with 230 persons with disabilities deployed for the Disability Access Monitoring Mission. This observation mission was a ...

In September 2020, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) published a series of resources for voters ahead of the general elections in the United States. These resources included an article written by Lilian Aluri and Rachita Singh (AAPD), which discusses how COVID-19 has created new barriers to voting and solutions to ...

The 2020 Global Gender Gap Report ranks Pakistan 93rd out of 153 countries in terms of political empowerment for women. While women with disabilities face heightened challenges to political participation and as discriminatory practices are further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 response and recovery efforts also provide a unique ...

In May 2020, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) interviewed members of the Association for Promotion and Development of Inclusive Society (INKLUZIVA) to learn more about their work to advocate for a disability-inclusive response to COVID-19 in North Macedonia. INKLUZIVA aims to foster an inclusive society by advocating for ...