Voting rights of the disabled: A work in progress Now there’s hope to see beyond disability and be counted!

The upcoming Presidential Elections will provide an opportunity for many persons with disabilities to exercise their right to vote. Even though Sri Lanka still lags in providing some of the basic facilities for persons with disabilities, considerable progress has been made to make their vote count from the next election onwards. However, challenges such as limited accessibility, lack of sign language interpretations, lack of adequate terminology and poor financial security have sidelined this population to an unimaginable extent. 

Signs of progress

The Disability Organisations Joint Front (DOJF) had been at the forefront in raising the much needed awareness to address and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. “The DOJF together with the Elections Commission and People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) conducted a pilot project to issue identity cards to disabled persons,” said Rasanjali Pathirage, President of DOJF.

“The ID cards indicate each person’s disability status and the corresponding facility that is required. For example, a person with a prosthetic limb would require transport facilities to the nearest polling centre. A wheelchair user may require accessibility within the polling centre. As such, we discussed the possibility of using these ID cards as a reference to note down the facilities required to accommodate persons with disabilities at the upcoming elections. As many as 18 types of disabilities have been identified and included in these ID cards. A hearing impaired person would require sign language interpreters at the polling centres. At the moment, the EC has trained its officers on sign language terminology that would be required on the day of the elections. They have prepared a lexicon and this will be tested at the upcoming elections. We have issued a booklet on the ‘Recommendations to protect political rights of persons with disabilities’ to all 225 MPs, political parties, elections observations missions and embassies indicating short, medium and long term measures that need to be implemented to ensure a smooth voting process for persons with disabilities,” she emphasised. 
According to the booklet, some of the short-term measures include proper lighting at polling centres, polling stations to be established in ground floors as a continuous policy, safe and smooth access roads to polling stations, fixing handrails, establishing ballot boxes at lower heights, displaying guidelines through simplified picture signs, and appointment of voluntary assistants to support persons with visual and mobility impairments. Provision of simultaneous sign language interpretations throughout the election period too has been identified in this document. The facilitation of a smarter voting process and the formulation of an election methodology to ensure an inclusive voting process are few of the key long-term measures recommended by the DOJF. 
Pathirage further spoke about pilot programmes that have been conducted in selected locations to improve voter education and encourage active participation in politics among selected groups of persons with disabilities. “These programmes were conducted in Puttalam, Matale, Colombo and Batticaloa. They were educated about various electoral processes, how to exercise their right to vote, etc.” she said. 
Pathirage also pointed out, “The Constitution itself is not available in an accessible format for persons with disabilities to peruse and understand their basic rights,” she added. Even though it is a fundamental right to know the contents of the Constitution, Pathirage claims that persons with disabilities have been deprived of this right for long years. “We have requested this facility in an accessible format on repeated occasions, but these requests have fallen on deaf ears,” she added. 
Pathirage further said that since most projects have been conducted as pilot projects, many persons with disabilities have been excluded. “Many of them including visually impaired persons are still unaware of how to cast their vote. In remote areas, many persons with disabilities are not interested in exercising their voting rights and some of them haven’t even been registered. As such, we continue to educate and encourage their parents and guardians to provide them with their right to vote,” she said. 

Addressing practical challenges 

With over 20 years of experience working to promote the empowerment of marginalised groups, with a particular focus on the rights of persons with disabilities, a senior advisor for disability rights, Attorney-At-Law Lasanthi Daskon said that in terms of accessibility there are a lot of issues and a lot of barriers that need to be overcome. “It depends on the disability, situation, etc. Generally, if you look at the infrastructure, physical accessibility in polling centres from the height of the ballot box to everything else can be a challenge for a person with disabilities. If you’re visually impaired there are issues in reading ballot papers to accessing the polling centre, etc. Hearing impaired persons are challenged with access to election related information, information related to campaigns, communication at the polling centre, knowing about their voting rights, how to cast the vote and so on. People living with psychosocial disabilities face much stigma, most of them are institutionalised and many of them are not registered, and even if they are registered they are unable to access a polling centre. Therefore, the issues are very complex because disability is diverse,” said Daskon. 
She further said that most polling centres are located at higher elevations which make accessibility difficult for even elderly persons. “But sometimes the EC cannot guarantee a change of location because perhaps that centre would be the only place with the space and facilities to be transformed into a polling centre. When you talk about disability, it is not only about people whom we categorise as people with disabilities, but also the elderly people. The diversity is so much; if you talk about visual disability there is a broad spectrum of associated disabilities. This is the same with others as well. So the barriers could vary depending on the disability, location and the individual. Everything from getting to and accessing the polling centre, obtaining information, and engaging in the political process could therefore be a challenge,” she added. 

However, Daskon further appreciated the efforts made by the EC to introduce a tactile ballot paper for visually impaired persons at the upcoming Presidential polls. “The tactile ballot paper is a massive leap from where we were. The District Elections Officers (DEO) have received training on basic electoral sign language interpretations and they in turn are training poll workers so that they could assist someone who requires sign language. If a person with a disability comes to a polling centre and the centre is situated at a higher elevation then two officers would take the ballot box downstairs for the person with a disability to mark their vote and people can request this facility because it is their right to vote. The EC has instructed DEOs to provide this facility. If they are coming in a three-wheeler, they are allowed to go inside the premises in their vehicle because otherwise vehicles are not allowed. They have worked with the Deaf Federation to create voter awareness through messaging in sign language, addressing people with psychosocial disabilities to break the stigma, understand whether they are comfortable to come out and vote in polling centres and likewise there’s a huge range of work that the EC has done, but because of the diversity and complexity there’s much more work to be done,” said Daskon. 
She credited the EC for doing the bulk of work which should have in fact been done by the state. “Sadly none of the politicians have had the sensitivity to have at least 10 of their promises in sign language to educate hearing impaired persons for example. Other than a charitable approach, it is unlikely that these come from a perspective of rights. Persons with disabilities have rights as any other voter, but eliminating these barriers don’t even come into the main discourse,” said Daskon.
She further said that it is not necessary to have Braille as most online resources are in accessible format. “Braille is sort of getting out of use as it is easier for people to use technology rather than resorting to Braille. Even in schools they prefer to use technology such as screen readers and text-to-voice software that could be used. For the Constitution to be available in a readable format, it should be online in a readable format. If a PDF document is scanned the reading software won’t work,” she said.
Daskon further spoke about the lack of terminology in sign language. “When we started doing voter education seven years ago we realised that there’s no terminology. There was no term for democracy. They were using the sign for freedom.  As such, the EC and the International Federation for Electoral Reforms (IFES) have developed a sign language lexicon of democracy-related terminology, and they have worked with sign language linguistics to create signs.
“Disability is still not a policy priority in Sri Lanka. Because there were committed individuals at the EC and organisations like IFES, it progressed. We offered a lot of support to many other organisations, but they don’t understand. Political leaders should start addressing people with disabilities and it is only then that they would realise that they are being recognised as part of a majority. This is where it has to start. Disability is still an afterthought. It is still not in the main discourse. Unless they aren’t in the mainstream discourse these changes will be long drawn and very slow,” she concluded. 
Visually impaired persons in dismay
The slow progress made in terms of streamlining accessibility facilities is clear when it comes to challenges faced by visually impaired persons. “Even after obtaining a medical, a Grama Niladhari certificate and taking all the pain and effort to cast the vote, I don’t think much has been done to address issues we face,” claimed H. A Nilmini Samaraweera, President of Sri Lanka Federation of the Visually Handicapped. “They remember us only during an election and they ignore us for the rest of their tenure. This has been happening for some time now. We have to find a guide to assist us on the day of the elections, we have to find a vehicle to travel and all this costs a lot of money. But in the end, what have we got? The disability compensation fee is a mere Rs. 7,500 but this isn’t distributed equally among persons with disabilities. Some people entirely depend on this amount,” said Samaraweera. 
According to the most recent census done in 2012, there are around 1.6 million people with disabilities in Sri Lanka. But significant questions exist about the meaning and requirements for defining persons with disabilities. Speaking about the issuance of ID cards, Samaraweera said that they haven’t received these ID cards yet. “We do not know if it had been distributed among all persons with disabilities. Most persons with disabilities are confined to their homes. In other countries, there are so many facilities for persons with disabilities but we are still lagging in basic facilities as well,” said Samaraweera. 

She further said that except for one or two candidates, most political parties have forgotten about this segment of people. “Most persons with disabilities are a burden to their families. So, if these politicians can assist families that include a disabled person, I’m sure these families will be loyal to these parties. There are those who still vote for parties that had politicians who distributed houses to people. Therefore, the authorities should look at streamlining infrastructure and providing an opportunity for persons with disabilities to exercise their right to vote,” she said.

Samaraweera further said that most persons with disabilities who had been self-employed have now been dragged to the streets due to abject poverty. “They are now selling tickets, incense sticks and other items on pavements. There have been leaders who promised to exempt persons with disabilities from taxes, but none of these promises had seen light of day. The white cane used by visually impaired persons costs around Rs. 1,500 but due to the standard of the streets one has to use around 7-8 canes as they are quite fragile. Therefore the next leader should be ready to address all these issues and provide a more inclusive environment for persons with disabilities,” Samaraweera underscored. 

Many firsts 

Apart from the special ID card and the tactile ballot paper, the Elections Commissioner General Saman Ratnayake announced that 320 election-related sign language vocabulary would be introduced for the benefit of hearing impaired persons. These recommendations were made to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on an Open and Accountable Government in early July. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Elections Commissioner General Saman Ratnayaka confirmed that the issuance of special ID cards has begun in 12 districts. “Five thousand (5000) of these ID cards will be issued in the pilot phase of the programme and it will be expanded to all other districts to ensure that all persons with disabilities are equipped with this facility,” said Ratnayaka. 

In another first, the Elections Commission issued a circular on Tuesday (August 27) regarding the legal provisions for voters with disabilities to be accompanied by a person to assist in marking the ballot paper at the polling centre. 

According to the EC, provisions in Section 38(2) of the Presidential Elections Act No. 15 of 1981 as amended by Elections (Special Provisions) Act No. 28 of 2011 permit that a person who is totally, partially visually handicapped or physical disabled can be accompanied by another person to assist in marking the ballot paper. 

Criteria for a person who accompanies a person with a disability:

• Should be above 18 years of age 
• Should not be a candidate contesting the election
• Should not be an authorised agent, a divisional agent, or an election agent of a candidate
• Should not be a person with a disability 

A person with a disability should submit a certificate of eligibility prescribed in the Fifth Schedule to the Presidential Elections Act to the officers at a polling station in order to be accompanied by a guide/assistant. The form to obtain the certificate of eligibility can be collected from the relevant District Election Office, Divisional Secretariat, Grama Niladhari (GN) Office or the EC website (www.elections.gov.lk). Individuals with visual impairments or other physical disabilities should submit the completed application form as described to the GN in order to receive a certificate. Once obtained, the certificate should then be presented to a Government medical practitioner who will then examine the elector, record their findings and certify the elector’s eligibility on the form.