Voting rights of disabled should be guaranteed - AD

Alternattiva Demokratika called for greater protection of the democratic rights that disabled people should enjoy, and warned that the General Elections Act does not consider persons with disability as persons but as votes. This was stated.

Speaking on the steps of the National Commission for People with Disabilities (KNPD) AD spokesperson for Disability Issues and Sport Dr Claire Azzopardi Lane warned that the current system is robbing disabled people of their privacy and their dignity when they exercise their democratic duty.

under the current framework disabled people are required to have the voting room closed while between three to six Assistant Electoral Commissioners (AECs) aid the voting process.

This process is seen at work during general elections, European Parliament elections, local council elections and national referendums.

Azzopardi Lane said that persons with disability have complained that it is awkward to have to close the voting premises off, and leave a queue of people waiting outside.

Furthermore, those persons who represent the Electoral Commission must become aware of the disabled person's voting intentions, given how the voter is required to speak out his or her choice in order for the vote to be considered valid.

She said that this is robbing disabled people from their democratic right to vote privately, as well as their dignity as citizens.

"Voting is an intimate, private choice. Having to announce your choice to an entire room is both undemocratic, and undignified," she said.

Azzopardi Lane also said that AD is insisting people with disability should have access to the voting system by introducing accessible information and communication technology - available on the market and now part of everyday life - for people with physical disability.

She called for a strong investment to address the requirements of persons who cannot use conventional means of voting and require alternative means using computer adapted technology.

She also called for an overhaul regarding how persons with intellectual disability and voting are handled, as to-date, persons with intellectual disability can be deprived of their right to vote by a judicial protest presented by a political party.

When this is the case the person with intellectual disability is subjected to assessment by the medical board made up of political appointees in terms of Article 14 of the General Elections Act.

The role of the medical board is then to discern whether the intellectual capacity of the person involved is of the required level for the person to vote.

She said that AD does not support current system where the voting rights of people with intellectual disability become a subject matter for political parties.

"Should political parties be responsible for this?" Azzopardi Lane asked, insisting also that political parties should have no role in the selection of the medical panel that evaluates individuals.

She insisted that this role should be exercised by National Commission for Persons with Disability (NCPD) itself, given that it has the required competence and sensitivity in dealing with various disabilities.

Azzopardi Lane was also critical of how the government is willing to spend vast amounts of public money to fly back home to vote, while neglecting to invest where necessary so that persons with disability are able to vote independently.

Deputy Chairman and AD Spokesman on Sustainable Development and Home Affairs Carmel Cacopardo called for a national discussion as to whether and under what conditions a voter would be entitled to be assisted during voting by a "trusted person" selected by him/herself.

Such a procedure would obviously not be limited in applicability to persons with disability but also to other categories, including persons who cannot read or write.

People with disability have insisted that choosing to have a single trusted person of their choice would make the voting process more private and appropriate, Cacopardo said.

They claimed that if such a trusted person (of their choice) was entrusted with their bank details then s/he could also be entrusted with assisting them when voting.

Obviously to avoiding abuse, measures would need to be put in place so as to safeguard the interest of persons with disability who require such support, he added.