December 3 is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities as established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981. The day is commemorated to promote a better understanding of the rights of persons with disabilities and the gains to be derived from the inclusion of this segment of the population in every aspect of our communities. 

Persons with disabilities comprise at least 10 percent of the global population, and approximately 80 percent of this group lives in developing nations. People with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty; have less access to education, health and transport systems; and are significantly less likely to have access on equal terms to activities that take place in the political arena.

In order for democracy to flourish, the voice of all its citizens must be taken into account. The equal participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of political, social and economic life is therefore vital for a country’s democratic progress.  Yet, despite the importance of including the voice of persons with disabilities in politics, this population remains largely invisible to the community that designs and implements governance programs.

To address these concerns, and to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, IFES is drafting a democracy and governance accessibility check list that will help ensure practitioners consider all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities while implementing democracy and governance programs. This check list, which draws from the years of experience IFES has in working on programs to include persons with disabilities in the political and civic life of a country, will soon be available to the public.

There are many ways that countries can ensure the inclusion of this population, all of which are included in the checklist. For example, in Kosovo, IFES produced audio cassettes to assist blind voters in making their selections. In partnership with local organizations in Guinea, IFES has been increasing the capacity of local organizations to educate target communities on active citizenship and the rights of persons with disabilities. In Lebanon, IFES measured all polling centers for their accessibility to persons with disabilities and printed booklets containing a technical analysis of the results to improve accessibility to polling stations for persons with disabilities.

Simple steps to ensure persons with disabilities can participate in civic life go a long way towards having a robust and inclusive political system. Taking these steps is a small gesture compared to many benefits it produces.