At the panel discussion of CIVIL on the topic “What laws, such elections”, the president of the association “Inkluziva” Blagica Dimitrovska spoke about the possibility of exercising the right to vote of persons with disabilities.
We have cooperation with the non-governmental sector, but it is negative that it is always seen that the political parties decide, and not the citizens. There are positive developments in relation to people with disabilities. It is thanks to the cooperation with the institutions and observers, this category to get more rights, and have equal rights with all conventions and documents signed in our country.
What has not been resolved is the inaccessibility of access to polling stations for people with disabilities. And it’s not just about voting, those places have students because elections take place in schools.
The polling station must be accessible to these people. To those people who have lost their ability to work, they lose the right to vote, they are no longer on the voter list, someone else decides for that person, and even if they show up at the polling station they can not vote. This is a deprivation of human rights. We have been asking for this to change for a long time and in response we get that many laws need to be changed. It is not a question of whether we want or can, but we must.
A new code must be drafted in line with the Convention on Persons with Disabilities. Our messages are listed in the ODHR and OSCE Recommendation Table.
We hope that in the new election code we will be able to achieve something for people with disabilities.
