The right to political participation is recognized and promoted by various international instruments that include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Political participation includes, amongst others, taking part in elections as a voter and/or a candidate and does not exclude persons with disabilities (PWDs). Article 29 of CRPD (2006) provides for ‘Participation in Political and Public Life’ and holds that “states parties shall guarantee to persons with disabilities political rights and the opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others.” Furthermore, Articles 2, 4, and 27 of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance (Democracy Charter) call on state parties to promote the popular participation of citizens, and Article 31 of the same charter makes specific reference to the promotion of participation of PWDs in the political process.
Despite the protection of the right to political participation of PWDs enshrined in the CRPD and recognized by the Democracy Charter, PWDs continue to face many barriers that deny them the opportunity to take part in elections. These barriers range from lack of laws protecting and guaranteeing the right of PWDs to political participation and an inaccessible electoral process. In the case of Botswana, there are no laws that discriminate against the participation of PWDs in political matters. However, there are numerous barriers that make it almost impossible for PWDs to meaningfully participate in the electoral process. Botswana has not ratified both the CRPD and the Democracy Charter both of which promote the right of PWDs to political participation. Furthermore, the electoral process remains largely inaccessible to PWDs in Botswana due to neglect of the PWDs as citizens with equal rights to participate in political and public life. This study on the political participation of PWDs in Botswana was carried out by the Department of Law at the University of Botswana with the assistance of funding from the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). The study is a result of one of the recommendations of a prior study on Situation Analysis of Disability Rights in the Context of Botswana (2006). The aforementioned study recommended, amongst others, that “the Government of Botswana should, through its responsible ministries make sure that individuals with disabilities are “able to cast votes and participate in the electoral process, as well as have access to information on elections” (Mukhopadhyay & Moswela 2016:6).

Projects

Currently no objects available

Currently no objects available