News

Prior to an anticipated Haitian election in January 2016, which was later postponed, the Provisional Electoral Council (Conseil Electorale Provisiore, or CEP) coordinated with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) to recruit, interview and hire two persons with disabilities to work at the CEP’s call center. The new employees, ...

In the decade since the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was passed, several politicians with disabilities were elected to office around the world. Over the past ten years, many people with disabilities have followed their political passions from candidacy to taking office. Article 29 of the ...

  Written by Elections Saskatchewan   One of the roles of an election management body is to engage the public and meet its needs and expectations for better information and services, better voting opportunities, higher levels of security and privacy protection, and improved accessibility services.   Before the 27th General ...

Persons with disabilities around the world encounter barriers to their political participation, and countries like Georgia are taking steps toward more inclusive policies and practices. In December 2013, Georgia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which calls on states to recognize rights and to adopt ...

As a technical advisor on disability rights, Karen Saba works with several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations from around the world. She has worked on several topics related to disability rights such as education and political participation, and she primarily works within the Middle East and North Africa region. ...

By Adam Gallagher, International Foundation for Electoral Systems   Around the world, persons with disabilities face immense challenges to exercising their political and human rights, particularly in new and emerging democracies like Myanmar. According to the country’s 2014 census, 2.3 million Myanmar citizens have a disability, but the World Health ...

Written by Ubuntu Centre South Africa   In South Africa, any citizen that  wishes to express his/her political will and cast his/her vote is entitled to cast a vote, regardless of whether it be a good or bad decision. Perceived “deficits” in mental ability to make decisions or any impairment cannot be ...

By Justin Cradit, International Foundation for Electoral Systems    On the crowded, noisy street of Pyay Road in Yangon’s Ahlone Township, locals regularly shop at nearby stores while cab drivers sit in standstill traffic. On October 30, eight days before Myanmar’s historic 2015 general elections, however, the atmosphere was a ...

Written by Ubuntu Centre South Africa   Despite South Africa’s struggle against tyranny and oppression, and transition to liberation in 1994, there remains a silent, invisible voice that is still denied their freedom and the franchise. As South Africa waits for registration for the voter’s roll in the run up to ...

Gerald Oriol was appointed Haiti’s Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities in October 2011. He oversees a staff of approximately 50 personnel working from five offices throughout the country, providing services to an estimated one million persons with disabilities. Oriol’s agency collaborates with USAID, the World ...

Written by Jessica Huber, International Foundation for Electoral Systems   Despite making up half of the population, women are excluded from equal political participation by prohibitive power dynamics embedded in culture, institutions and legal systems, all conditions which are exacerbated during conflict. For the disability community, the primary challenge involves ...

Written by Ramini Matcharashvili, Founder of Change for Equal Rights   Georgia is among the countries which are called developing democracies. In Georgia’s case, this means that despite many reforms that were implemented and success stories achieved through the process of reforms, numerous problems remain which need to be addressed ...

Written by the Hon. Mirko Tomassoni, Founder of Attiva-Mente and former Member of Parliament of the Republic of San Marino   I have had a disability since 1998, when I was in a road accident. In 2004, I founded an association for disabled persons called Attiva-Mente which works in the ...

Written by Suraiya Zubair Banu, International Foundation for Electoral Systems   Nigeria’s status as Africa’s most populous nation with the largest economy on the continent has brought an increasing amount of international attention, particularly during its most recent General Elections, which were held on March 28 and April 11, 2015. ...