Promotion of Electoral Rights of Disabled and Elderly Voters

2003-06-27

Unison has completed the implementation of a project entitled “Promotion of Electoral Rights of Disabled and Elderly Voters.” As a result of inaccessibility of polling stations, numerous voters with limited mobility cannot realize their electoral rights and participate in elections. In the past, the ballot-boxes used to be brought to the homes of the above people or to hospitals; thus they had an opportunity to vote.

However, a legislative change made in 1995 prohibited taking ballot-boxes out of election districts. As a result, people with physical disabilities lost an opportunity to realize their electoral rights. The project was implemented with involvement of all of the 417 polling stations in Yerevan. These were monitored from the point of view of their accessibility for voters with limited mobility. 3 seminars for the electoral commission members, 2 round tables for representatives of the interested NGOs, mass media, international organizations, and state authorities were held. A TV clip was produced and numerously broadcasted on the First Channel of the Armenian Television.

“Disability in Armenia,” a bilingual (Armenian and English) brochure, was published and distributed among the major stakeholders.