Election Observation by People with Disabilities

ELECTION OBSERVATION BY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Ghana Case Study
Volume I, Paper 3
December, 2000

Citizens with Disabilities Observe Ghana Elections

Against a backdrop of remarkably public and visible elections, 77 Ghanaians with disabilities served their fellow citizens as fully trained election observers during the December 2000 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

Election sites were by and large set outside, in school and church yards, aside busy markets, and in central locations in communities across the country. By early morning on election day, December 7, scores and scores of men and women had come to their neighborhood polling stations to stand or sit in line, waiting peacefully and patiently for the voting to begin at the prescribed hour of seven o'clock.

Staffing the polls were a corps of temporary election workers - teachers, government employees, clerks - trained to process citizens from one step in the voting process to the next. They were joined by a security agent, and by representatives of the major political parties. Observing the process at many polling stations were one or two trained "domestic observers." Their task - through their neutrality and by their presence - was to assess and promote the credibility of the elections. In all, as many as ten individuals were trained to spend the day working or observing at each polling station, from the early morning, through the closing of polls at five o'clock in the evening.

Following the close of the polls, election workers at each polling station proceeded to count ballots. This was also done in public. At many polling stations, as many as five to six hundred anxious and enthusiastic citizens stayed to witness the count, and to await the outcome of the home district's vote.

As part of this very public process, the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) worked with local Ghanaian disability organizations to train and deploy 77 citizens with disabilities to serve as fully credentialed domestic election observers. It is believed to be the first time that people with disabilities were specifically identified and trained to serve as election observers.

These 77 men and women - 45 percent were women - were deployed in the capital city of Accra and in nine areas throughout northern Ghana. Like any other observer group, their task was to assess the extent to which the election was free, fair and transparent. But as observers with disabilities, their task was also to assess the degree to which the election process was accessible to voters with disabilities. Finally, their task was to assess their own experiences as observers, and to recommend strategies to assist future election observers with disabilities.

The presence of the observers with disabilities also served another purpose. By representing their fellow citizens in such a public and visible manner, these 77 men and women demonstrated to their communities the capacity of people with disabilities to perform an important civic function. In fact, their very presence as election observers was often greeted with surprise by election workers and voters alike.

Next Steps: The work of the observers with disabilities did not end on December 7. Each of the 77 individuals observed again on December 28, in the special run-off election for the top two finishers in the Presidential ballot. And in the coming weeks, a representative group of the observers will convene for a seminar with the Ghana Electoral Commission. The purpose of the seminar will be to review lessons learned from the observation effort; to identify ways to replicate positive aspects of the December elections; to identify steps necessary to promoting the full electoral participation of people with disabilities; and to discuss ways to enhance the participation of election observers with disabilities. IFES will serve as a technical resource at this seminar.

Background on IFES Disability Programming

The International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) is an internationally recognized provider of technical assistance to electoral agencies and democratic institutions in over 100 nations. Based in Washington, DC, IFES currently has offices in over 20 nations. IFES is committed to expanding the reach of democracy to all individuals, and has been working since 1998 to promote the electoral enfranchisement of people with disabilities.

Over the past several months, IFES' effort has been recognized through grants from the Finland Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and from the Sweden International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Finnish funds are used to support three activities: research on constitutions, election laws, and election practices to assess accessibility concerns; pilot projects to election commissions to expand access to voters with disabilities; and election observation missions to assess the manner in which voters with disabilities participate in elections. Swedish funds are earmarked for at least six election observation efforts in which IFES will enable local disability organizations to take part as election observers in their own countries.

In Ghana, Swedish funds were used to support the December 2000 election observation efforts. Finnish funds will be used to convene the post-election seminar.

The IFES Disability Project in Ghana

In the months leading up to the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in December 2000, IFES worked collaboratively with local non-governmental organizations in Ghana to enable citizens with disabilities to serve as fully-credentialed observers.

The overall purpose of the project was multidimensional, and included:

· Awareness raising. In many nations, the citizenry is not accustomed to seeing people with disabilities performing important civic functions. By serving as election observers, the Ghanaians with disabilities were educating their fellow citizens as to the abilities of people with disabilities. Public awareness was also raised through local print, radio, and television media coverage, and through links to other mainstream NGOs which were fielding observation missions.

· Organizational strengthening. IFES provided a sub-grant to Action on Disability and Development (ADD), a Ghanaian NGO based in Tamale, in northern Ghana. ADD had overall responsibility for identifying and training the observers, and worked with a network of NGOs based in Accra - the Federation of Disability Organizations (FODA) -- to conceptualize and plan the deployment of the observers.

· Promoting citizen participation and strengthening democracy. By involving and training citizens to serve as stakeholders in the conduct of an election, the project served to promote and strengthen Ghana's emerging democracy.

· Promoting electoral access for people with disabilities. By observing the elections through a "disability lens," the observers are taking part in a global effort with IFES to identify barriers which limit the participation of people with disabilities in elections, and to promote solutions to remove those barriers.

As noted, IFES identified a local NGO in Ghana capable of organizing and implementing a domestic monitoring project for citizens with disabilities. Action on Disability and Development/Ghana based in Tamale, Ghana, is the Ghanaian affiliate of a global organization entitled Action on Disability and Development (ADD), based in Somerset, England. ADD has affiliates in thirteen African and Asian nations.

Identifying Observers: In the weeks prior to the election, ADD was responsible for identifying up to 80 individuals with disabilities to serve as observers. In that ADD is based in the northern city of Tamale, it was determined that up to 50 observers would be identified for deployment in several northern areas of Ghana, and that an additional 30 would be identified for deployment in the capital city of Accra.

In order to identify potential observers, ADD worked collaboratively with the Federation of Disability Associations (FODA) of Ghana. Based in the capital city of Accra, FODA is a coalition of organizations of and for people with disabilities, including the Ghana Association of the Deaf, the Ghana Association of the Blind, and the Ghana Association of the Physically Disabled.

In the end, 47 individuals were identified to work in nine areas across northern Ghana, and 30 individuals were selected to work in Accra. Of the 77 deployed on election day, 24 were individuals with visual impairments, 22 were individuals with hearing impairments, and 31 were individuals with mobility impairments. Forty-five percent (45%) of the observers were women. All of the observers were literate.

Training: In the days prior to the election, ADD and FODA organized two seminars to train the observers. The first training session was convened in Tamale on December 1, 2000, for the 47 observers to be deployed in northern Ghana. The second training session was convened in Accra on December 5, for the 30 observers to be deployed in that city.

The purpose of the seminars was threefold. The first objective of the training was to prepare the participants to serve as fully-credentialed election observers. This involved a thorough review of electoral law and practice, and the role and responsibilities of the electoral observer. The second objective was to prepare the participants to view the election through a "disability lens," so as to assess the extent to which citizens with disabilities voted, and the manner in which they voted. The third objective was to share tools and strategies that might be needed of observers with disabilities.

Training was conducted by Mr. Thomas Issah, Program Manager of Action on Disability and Development/Ghana, by Mr. Jerome Mindes of the International Foundation for Election Systems; and by representatives of the Electoral Commission of Ghana; and by representatives of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), a consortium of Ghanaian NGOs.

Training followed a similar format in each city. The representative of the electoral commission provided a step-by-step review of the process to be followed on election day. Mr. Mindes and the CODEO representative led a review and discussion of the "Information Guide for Election Observers" manual developed by CODEO, which includes a "code of conduct" for observers. Mr. Mindes also led a review and discussion of observation forms to be used and completed on election day by the observers. These forms contained a checklist on general and disability-specific election issues. Mr. Issah and Mr. Nicholas Halm of FODA (in Accra only) discussed deployment procedures and strategies.

Each training session lasted approximately 6 to 7 hours. (It should be noted that non-disabled CODEO observers received approximately 4 hours of training.)

The training sessions also provided an opportunity for the participants to discuss strategies for observing, and to share ideas on meeting some of the unique challenges to be faced on election day by observers with disabilities. Among these were the following:

-- Discrimination. Observers recognized the need to ignore but chronicle any incidence of discrimination, drawing on the observer's code of conduct requirement that observers remain calm. Observers also agreed to leave a particular polling station if the discrimination was prolonged or hostile. (While observers faced some discrimination, none felt they needed to leave their observer post).
-- Communications. Observers with hearing impairments discussed the need to identify tools for communicating with election day workers and other observers who do not use or understand sign language. Many deaf observers wrote notes to the election table presiding officers, for example. Observers with visual impairments needed to address the issue of how to "observe" without the aid of sight. On election day, observers with visual impairments were paired with another observer, or a guide.
-- Inaccessibility. Observers with physical disabilities discussed the probability that not all voting sites would be accessible to people with mobility impairments. It was agreed that observers would not avoid inaccessible sites.

Links to Other Organizations: In order to plan for the training events, ADD and FODA needed to establish links to other organizations in Ghana. First, they needed to establish ties to the Ghanaian Electoral Commission offices in Tamale and Accra, to request that an election official serve as a trainer at both the Tamale and Accra training sessions. Secondly, they needed to establish links with the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), a consortium of "mainstream" NGOs including organizations of teachers, journalists, lawyers, religious groups, and others. It was through CODEO and the Electoral Commission that the ADD/FODA observers received their accreditation and their election day credentials.

Election Day(s)

The 77 observers with disabilities were deployed in ten cities in Ghana; nine areas in northern Ghana, and in the capital city of Accra in the south. The nine northern areas covered were Tamale, Damongo, Savelugu, Lawra, Nadowli, Wa, Bawku-East, Navrongo, and Bolgatanga. A complete list of observers deployed in each area is included in this report.

It was determined that observers should be deployed at the polling station where they normally vote, in their community. The rationale was that the observers with disabilities would be seen in and by their community performing an important civic function. This contributed greatly to the project goal of raising the awareness of the community about the capacity of citizens with disabilities.

Each ADD/FODA observer was equipped with a badge issued by the Electoral Commission identifying them as a domestic election observer, and a tee-shirt designed by ADD identifying them as an ADD/FODA elections observer. The tee-shirt was emblazoned with the universal symbol for disability, as well as phrases identifying the observers as representatives of ADD/FODA, and people with disabilities.

Typically, each observer began and ended their day at their own polling station. During the day, many of the observers would go to other, nearby polling stations. In all, the 77 ADD/FODA observers went to approximately 300 voting stations on December 7, and a similar number on December 28 for the run-off. In general, approximately 800-1000 individuals voted at each polling station. Therefore, the 77 observers with disabilities saw over 200,000 people vote. Similarly, an estimated 200,000 people saw the ADD/FODA observers performing their tasks.

Media Coverage

The Ghanaian press took notice of the ADD/FODA observers. Print reporters and television crews covered the December 1 training event in Tamale, and radio broadcasts mentioned the team of observers with disabilities. In addition, joint press releases were issued following each election by ADD and FODA. IFES issued a press release as well, between the two electoral events.

Sustainability: Post-Election Follow-up

In the coming weeks, IFES will join Action on Disability and Development (ADD), the Federation of Disability Associations (FODA), and the Ghana Electoral Commission for a seminar to follow-up the ADD/FODA election observation effort. The seminar will be organized by ADD, under a sub-grant from IFES (using funds under a grant to IFES from the Finland Ministry for Foreign Affairs).

The purposes of the seminar will be to assess the experiences of the ADD/FODA observers; and to engage in a substantive and results-oriented dialogue with representatives of the Ghana Electoral Commission. The purpose of the dialogue will be to identify exemplary practices during the December 2000 Elections which facilitated the participation of voters with disabilities; to identify barriers which prohibited or limited the participation of voters with disabilities; and to work together to identify ways to promote the full participation of citizens with disabilities in future elections. This will include an effort to identify protocols and strategies for future election observation efforts by citizens with disabilities. It is anticipated that the outcomes of this seminar will be of assistance to election commissions and disability organizations from other nations. IFES will work with ADD and FODA to disseminate the recommendations and observations which result from these sessions.

It is expected that a number of key issues will be addressed at this seminar. Among these are:

· The denial of the right to a secret ballot to voters with visual impairments, and strategies to develop and test a tactile or Braille ballot that can be used independent of assistance;
· The lack of physical accessibility of some polling stations, and the development of standards for the selection of polling stations at future elections in Ghana;
· The apparent low turn-out of voters with disabilities, and steps which elections and disability organizations can take to increase voter turn-out and voter education in subsequent elections in Ghana;
· The apparent lower-than-average number of citizens with disabilities who are registered to vote in Ghana, and steps which elections and disability organizations can take to address this problem;
· The lack of voter education and voter information materials in forms accessible to voters with hearing or visual disabilities; and
· The issue of citizens with psychiatric or mental disabilities, and the potential for their electoral enfranchisement.

Replicability: The Sierra Leone Delegation

In addition to the disability project, IFES was managing a separate activity during the Ghana elections. IFES' Division for Africa and the Near East brought to Ghana a delegation from Sierra Leone, comprised of representatives of the Sierra Leone elections commission, civil society representatives, and politicians. The purpose of the visit by the Sierra Leone delegation was to observe and learn from the Ghana experience, as Sierra Leone is slated to convene elections in the coming months.

While in Ghana, the Sierra Leone delegation met with and was briefed by representatives of both ADD and FODA, and by IFES disability consultant Jerome Mindes. They briefed the Sierra Leone delegation on IFES efforts - in Ghana and globally - to promote the electoral enfranchisement of citizens with disabilities. Obviously, this effort was of great interest to the delegates from Sierra Leone. In addition to the expected levels of mobility, sensory, and cognitive disabilities, Sierra Leone has thousands of individuals who have lost limbs due to torture and conflict.

As a result of this discussion, the Chief Electoral Commissioner of National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone, Mr. Walter O.F. Nicol, invited Mr. Mindes and IFES to Sierra Leone to assist the Commission address the needs of citizens with disabilities. This effort with Sierra Leone is expected to commence during the first quarter of 2001.