Discussion on the Inclusive Electoral Environment
On December 6, the challenges for the creation of an inclusive electoral environment for voters with disabled were discussed at the event organized by ISFED, with the support of the EU.
The main goal of the meeting was to discuss the political party’s pre-election campaign and programs on the needs of persons with disabilities. Do the political parties see the voters with disabilities as a group of voters? What steps are being taken to deliver campaign messages to people with disabilities? Do the parties' programs respond to the demands and needs of the voters? To respond to these questions, representatives of the political parties, the disabled rights activists and other members of civil society were gathered.
"Most of the voters with disabled do not have an opportunity to make informed choices as the voters with different needs do not receive the electoral programs in an adapted form. There are many challenges in this regard, but if we want to have an inclusive election environment, it is important to start discussing these issues and share positive experiences. This also concerns us, election observer organizations, because we should also make efforts to ensure that our monitoring results and election information are available for all voters," said Executive Director of ISFED, Mikheil Benidze.
The participants of the discussion were informed about awareness raising activities and engagement efforts by the electoral administration aimed at persons with disabilities and they discussed future steps.
After the Parliamentary elections of 2016, ISFED also held a discussion regarding the rights of persons with disabilities in the electoral processes. Organization's survey: "The right to vote for persons with disabilities" is available on the link: http://www.isfed.ge/main/1176/eng/.