Article on the Political Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Thailand

On September 16, TAB published its sixth article written by Ms. Chompunut Chalieobun, a disability rights activist who has been voicing the political rights of persons with disabilities in Thailand. By using Enabling Masterplan action point APSC 1, Ms. Chalieobun stated that political rights are fundamental rights for all citizens. She further emphasized the need to increase the participation of persons with disabilities in elections both as political candidates and as rightful voters. She shared five barriers or challenges including 1) the lack of awareness of persons with disabilities towards their rights to vote, 2) inaccessible information related to the election, 3)  inadequate and inaccessible systems and facilities at polling sites, 4) lack of knowledge and response from election management officials towards the needs of persons with disabilities to cast their vote especially in times of pandemic and 5) less attention and respect towards persons with disabilities from election stakeholders. To eliminate these barriers, she proposed three recommendations. First, the government should set policies that accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities in an election. Second, the government should uphold universal design when building election systems and equipment, and lastly, the government should work with organizations of persons with disabilities to design and disseminate accessible election information at the national level. The article was published on TAB’s Enabling Masterplan Facebook Page here.