Sometimes, people with intellectual disabilities are not allowed to vote. They should have the right to vote like any other citizen. A court in Spain has allowed a person with Down syndrome to vote.

A Spanish court entitles a person with Down syndrome to exercise the right to vote in political elections.  The court has revoked the sentence declaring this person under total legal incapacity, which prevents many people with intellectual disabilities from voting.

In September, our Spanish member, FEAPS, addressed a letter to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the General Council of the Judiciary. FEAPS requested the aforementioned institutions to take into account the right to vote of people with disabilities in cases where legal capacity is to be revised.

In this letter Juan Cid, president of FEAPS, declared that in most cases "people with disabilities are deprived of the right to vote without an accurate examination of each specific situation".

Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, recognizes the need to ensure that persons with disabilities "can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity for persons with disabilities to vote and be elected".

Inclusion Europe welcomes the decision of the Spanish court and the positive effect of FEAP’S request to better protect the rights of people with disabilities, particularly in this case the right to vote which is the subject of our project ADAP. A final conference of this project will be held in Brussels from 30-31 May 2011.