Iraqis with disabilities face difficulties voting due to ‘discriminatory legislation’: HRW

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Millions of Iraqis with disabilities may be facing difficulties casting their votes in the upcoming Iraqi elections, with a rights group calling on Iraqi officials to reform its “discriminatory legislation”.

Parliamentary elections in Iraq are scheduled for October 10, and polling stations are mainly located in schools where access for some people with disabilities is limited.

A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released on Thursday catalogues the numerous barriers for people with disabilities to cast their votes, and calls on the government to address “a host of practical barriers” in front of people with disabilities ahead of the elections.

“We face many complications in the [voting] process. The polling stations are not suitable for people with disabilities - they have stairs and no ramps, which does not allow people with disabilities to go and vote independently,” Yadgar Kareem, the director of the Kurdistan Region Blind Union, told Rudaw English on Wednesday. “They will have to get help from someone which could make the person with disabilities uncomfortable and might even affect their voting decision.”

“For people with physical disabilities, even getting to a polling location can be difficult or impossible due to the ban on operating vehicles on Election Day that authorities have imposed for security reasons (commonly known in Iraq as a vehicle curfew). The ban has a direct impact on people who use crutches, wheelchairs, or other mobility assistive devices,” the report read.

At the moment, there is no accurate data on the number of people with disabilities in Iraq. 

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) says that in 2011, around four million people in Iraq were living with disabilities. The number has increased considerably between 2014 and 2016 after swathes of the country fell into the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS).

UNAMI has recruited a sign language interpreter to aid deaf Iraqis with informational videos on how to vote. 

One of the main complications facing the visually impaired is the lack of Braille transcription on the ballots according to the HRW report.

“Those with visual impairment cannot cast the votes themselves and need to ask for help, and the person that helps, if they are honest, then that is good, but if they are not, they could take advantage of the vote,” Kareem said.

The community faces many other complications during the electoral process. According to Kareem, people with impaired hearing struggle as there are usually no people at the polling stations who know the sign language that could guide them. People of short stature face difficulties with the height of the booths.

According to a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), most Iraqis with disabilities “have little to no income. They are excluded from livelihood opportunities, such as vocational training, employment, and business development support. In addition, many are not able to access social protection payments.” 

This deprivation from basic life needs has led many of the community to believe that they should have special representation in parliament.

“There should be a quota for people with disabilities in the election law, so they can get proper representation in the parliament,” Kareem said.

The HRW report indicates that people with disabilities also face challenges in running for public office. According to the group, only eight people with disabilities have run for public office since 2005.

“The obstacles apparently stem from discriminatory legislation, including provisions that require candidates to be ‘fully competent’ or ‘fully qualified,’ and the unwillingness of political parties to seek out and support people with disabilities as candidates,” the report said calling on the parliament, political parties, and other concerned entities to work on providing the community their rights.

At least 25 million Iraqis are eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections next month, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).

On July 8, the IHEC approved the final list of candidates eligible to contest the elections. There are a total of 3,249 candidates, including 951 women, competing for 329 seats. Nine seats are reserved by minorities and there are 67 candidates vying for these spots.