Soufiane El Amrani is the accessibility expert at Inclusion Europe. He has been working at Inclusion Europe since 2008, specialising in easy-to-read materials and training. In this testimonial, Soufiane speaks about the barriers he has faced in voting as a person with intellectual disabilities, and the importance of making sure everyone can make informed choices and cast their votes in the European elections.
I feel it is my duty to vote in the European elections to get the decision makers to listen to people with intellectual disabilities. It is important for me to vote in the European elections so I can make my voice heard.
The barriers I face in voting
I have faced and still face many barriers when it comes to voting.
I did not vote in the 2019 European elections because I have a legal administrator. In Belgium, when you have a legal administrator your right to vote is taken away.
When I voted in the European elections in 2014, before I had a legal administrator, the voting station was not accessible. There was a step that made entering with a wheelchair very hard and the computer was not at the right height for me to cast my vote. Not having access to easy-to-read information is a problem. Politicians not talking in an easy-to-understand way too.
These things make me feel like I am not a part of the community.
The importance of using your right to vote
It is important for everyone to be able to vote because everyone has a voice that deserves to be heard.
Voting means you tell the decision-makers what you want and what they should work on. If people with intellectual disabilities don’t vote, their needs are not seen or heard – and if decision makers don’t know what we want to change, then not enough will happen for us.
That’s why all people with intellectual disabilities should have the right to vote in elections.
How Europe and its politicians could better support persons with disabilities
The first step is not to take away people’s right to vote. Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities says that all people with disabilities have the right to take part in elections and political life. Belgium and other European countries could start by respecting that right.
The next step is to make voting accessible. This means sharing information about the elections and voting in easy-to-read. This way people with intellectual disabilities can be included.
Also, politicians should talk to people with intellectual disabilities. This way they can learn what people with intellectual disabilities want, and how to talk about their goals in easy-to-understand ways.
“It’s everyone’s right to decide if they want to vote. But if there are things you want to see changed, then voting is the way to make it happen. Go tell the candidates what you want them to do, listen to what they say, and vote for the ones you think will work for the things you want.”
My message to decision-makers
People with intellectual disabilities have a voice. It is the decision-makers’ jobs to make sure their voices are heard.
That’s why decision-makers should change the law. Just because I have a legal administrator and get support in one area in my life, it does not mean that I don’t care about what happens in the world around me and cannot contribute to it.
It is very important for decision-makers to say what they are doing in easy-to-read and understandable ways. I feel there is still not enough out there to explain who the different parties are and who would be a good candidate to represent my interests.
It is not fair that I and many other people are not part of something that is so important.
I hope that my right to vote and take part in political life will be respected and given back to me soon.