“Save the vote” International Campaign
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All people with intellectual disabilities
should have the right to vote in the elections.
However, there are parts of the world,
where people with disabilities cannot vote.
There is a world campaign to make people who have the power
understand that taking part in the elections is everyone’s rights.
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For most of us, the right to vote is one of our basic civil rights. However, despite being a key element and condition of democracy, not all people are allowed to exercise their political rights. We do not have to look outside Europe or in non-democratic countries of the world to find such cases. Inside Europe, people with intellectual disabilities might be denied this right, either because the elections are not accessible for them, or because they might be seen as lacking the capacity of "proper judgement”.
In order to support the right of people with disabilities to exercise their political rights, Mental Disability Advocacy Centre has recently launched an international campaign entitled “Save the vote”, to encourage the Venice Commission to revise its Interpretative Declaration that is fully compliant with basic Disability Convention standards including those of the Council of Europe as well as the UN and leave no room for potential discrimination.
According to the latest version of the Interpretative Declaration, "a court, in an individual decision, may consider that the lack of proper judgment of a disabled person may prevent him or her from exercising his or her right to vote or to stand for elections."
Underlining that this is “legal nonsense which undercuts universal suffrage and equality”, MDAC has organised a whole series of events aiming at enabling people in power to take action. The events are based on donations from organisations and people supporting the campaign.
How to participate
Non-governmental organisations and individuals are encouraged to take part in the “Save the vote” campaign. There are various ways to do so. As described in the website of the campaign, they can “sign the “Save to vote” petition, send an e-mail to the Venice Commission, organise an event in their neighbourhood, “like” the page of the campaign on facebook, download the banner for their website or social networking page, donate money, write an article in their local newspaper or suggest ways that the campaign should be developed”.
The role of Inclusion Europe
Considering the right to vote as one of the most fundamental rights of European citizens and the basis for an inclusive society, Inclusion Europe together with Inclusion International strongly support the “Save the vote” campaign.
The right of people with disabilities to participate in political and public life plays a prominent role among Inclusion Europe’s values and objectives. The project "Accommodating Diversity for Active Participation in European Elections" (ADAP), recently completed by Inclusion Europe and its partners, was aiming at making the elections accessible for people with disabilities. Based on the research of the status quo in Europe, the ADAP project came up with concrete recommendations to make elections in Europe more accessible. The recommendations are available in all EU languages and easy-to-read at the ADAP project website: www.voting-for-all.eu.
Related articles: Universal suffrage?
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