As part of the Defence of Democracy package, the European Commission has published two Recommendations touching upon the importance of considering persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in political and public life and electoral processes.
One recommendation covers inclusive and resilient electoral processes in the Union. The other considers promoting the engagement and effective participation of citizens and civil society organisations in public policy-making processes.
The Recommendation on Elections
EDF values positively that the European Commission explicitly recommends Member States to “support the electoral participation of persons with disabilities, both as voters and candidates, and prevent and remove the barriers they encounter when participating in elections” (paragraph 8).
In this regard, the Commission calls on EU countries to remove “the blanket removal of electoral rights of persons with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities without individual assessment and possibility of judicial review”. EDF agrees with this statement but reminds the Commission and all Member States that allowing individual deprivation of electoral rights is still an infringement of the human rights of persons with disabilities.
Legitimising individual deprivation of electoral rights on the basis of disability – which is the meaning behind “without individual assessment and possibility of judicial review” – goes against the paradigm shift of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and, in particular, its Article 29 on participation in political and public life.
We also regret that the Commission did not explicitly ask Member States to undertake the necessary legal reforms to maximise equal access to electoral processes ensuring that persons with disabilities can vote independently and in secret.
Positive points include:
- Calls on Member States to support persons with disabilities as election officials and encouragement for countries to make use of the guide on good electoral practices to support the participation of persons with disabilities in elections.
- Recital 17, where the Commission echoes EDF’s statement for International Day of Persons with Disabilities about persons with disabilities being underrepresented as Members of the European Parliament.
The same recital encourages political parties to address the needs of persons with disabilities in their campaigning by, for example, complying with accessibility legislation and providing reasonable accommodation. However, this encouragement is diluted in the main articles of the recommendation, in which the underrepresentation of persons with disabilities as candidates is not addressed either.
All in all, we would have liked to read more mentions of the rights of persons with disabilities to an accessible, inclusive electoral process.
Recommendation on participation in policy-making
The Recommendation on promoting the participation of citizens and civil society in public policy-making includes positive points:
- It highlights the need for equal opportunities and “a plurality of opinions” in civil participation, including those of persons with disabilities among other underrepresented groups.
- The general framework calls for all Member States to “provide for ways to participate in a non-discriminatory and accessible manner […] without excessive formalities and free of charge.” This is discussed in the specific context of the needs of persons with disabilities.
In its list of specific measures to support and protect the civic space, the recommendation mentions the potential for harassment and threats towards civil society organisations, both online and offline. It emphasises the need for helpline and other support services to be accessible, confidential and non-discriminatory for persons with disabilities.
Lastly, the recommendation also calls for Member States to put in place funding and other resources that enable civil society organisations to carry out their work.
Both documents are available online: