In the European Union, one person in four lives with a disability. Yet in the 2019 European Parliament elections, more than 800,000 EU citizens were unable to vote because of their disability. This is the premise of the report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), published on Wednesday 29 May, entitled “Political participation of people with disabilities in the EU”, which takes stock of the situation.
Legislative scope. Legal restrictions remain a major obstacle to the political participation of disabled people, according to the FRA. The laws of seven countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Poland, Portugal and Romania) automatically exclude people under legal guardianship from the right to vote.
However, notable progress has been made: several countries have abolished these restrictions, instead offering support during the vote or assessing each case individually. This approach ensures that all people, including those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, can exercise their political rights.
Accessibility and awareness. The accessibility of polling stations, websites and broadcasters has been improved thanks to legal standards. Nevertheless, people with visual, hearing or intellectual impairments continue to face considerable barriers, including the lack of tactile voting devices and information in Braille or audio formats. The EU has adopted directives on web and audiovisual media accessibility, but their implementation remains uneven.
Participation and consultation. Seventeen EU countries (Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden and the Czech Republic) have developed disability strategies that include political participation.
However, meaningful consultation with disabled people’s organisations is often lacking, as is training for electoral authorities on accessibility and discrimination issues.
Recommendations and best practice. The FRA report suggests a number of measures to improve the political participation of people with disabilities: lifting restrictions on the right to vote, making electoral facilities more accessible, providing disability training to electoral authorities and removing administrative barriers.
Promising initiatives, such as accessible campaigns, action plans for public broadcasters and dedicated transport to make voting easier, are already in place.
The report: https://aeur.eu/f/cg8 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)