1. NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL
Political participation of people with disabilities
2014
Roxana Silva Ch.
National Electoral Council Member

2. Contents
 Disabilities in numbers
 Normative of political participation of people with disabilities
 Ecuadorian Constitution
 Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
 Democracy Code
 Regulation for political participation of people with disabilities



Assisted Vote
Priority attention table
Vote at Home (Spanish: Voto en Casa)
 Representation of the optional vote in Ecuador

3. Disabilities in numbers
Number of people with disabilities in Ecuador, according to the
2010 census:
815.900
Percentage of people with disabilities in Ecuador:
12% of Ecuador’s population
Number of people with disabilities in Ecuador who can vote:
279.624

4. Normative for political participation
of people with disabilities
1.- Ecuadorian Constitution:
 Art. 48.- The State will adopt in favor of people with disabilities,
measures that will ensure:
1. Social (political) inclusion, through governmental and
private plans.

5. Art. 65.- The State will adopt affirmative actions in order to
guarantee the participation of traditional excluded groups.
Art. 47.- The State will guarantee preventive policies (…), as well
as equal opportunities. For people with disabilities, the following
rights are recognized:
 11. Access to mechanisms and alternative communication
forms, such as Sign Language for deaf people, audio and braille
system.

6. 2.- Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
Art. 29.- Party States will ensure that people with disabilities can
participate fully and effectively in political and public life with equal
conditions as others, (…) through:
i) Ensuring that procedures, facilities and electoral materials are
appropriate, accessible and easy to be understood and used;
ii) They can present themselves as candidates for elections, making it
easier to use new technologies and support technologies;
iii) Whenever it is necessary and on their demand, allow that a person
they chose may assist them in the voting process;

7. 3.- Democracy Code
Art. 11.- The exercise of the voting right shall be in accordance to the
following dispositions:
 2. Voting will be optional for people with disabilities.
 The National Electoral Commission will regulate and establish the
needed conditions to ease the voting process of people with
disabilities.
Art. 111.- The National Electoral Commission will provide suitable
mechanisms in order to ease people with disabilities voting process,
including them in the issued electoral normative.
Art. 115.- The National Electoral Commission will regulate the voting
methods for cases of people with disabilities, whose disability does not
allow them to vote.

8. 4.- Regulation for political participation of people with
disabilities
Assisted Vote
Art. 2.- The National Electoral Commission will ensure that free
decision and will of people with disabilities as constituents and to
this end, whenever it is necessary and on their demand, allow that a
person they chose may assist them in the voting process.

9. Priority attention table
Art. 3.- In each electoral precinct there will be at least one priority
attention table for people with disabilities, pregnant women and senior
citizens, located on the ground floor and properly identified, where the
proper support will be provided for them to exercise their voting right.
 In precincts with 10 to 30 polling stations  1 table with 2 members.
 In precincts with 31 or more polling stations 2 tables with 2
members each one.
 In precincts with less than 10 polling stations, these functions will be
conducted at the information table.

10. Vote at Home (Spanish: Voto en Casa)
Art 7.- The National Electoral Commission, will implement a program
that will enable the voting process of people with disabilities that
cannot approach an electoral precinct, which consists in bringing the
polling station to the people with disabilities homes.
Selection criteria for beneficiaries of the Vote at
Home Project:
• People with more than 75% disability
• People with hemiplegia or paraplegia
• People older than 65 years old
Previous
selection for
creating
moving polling
stations.
The Project will be applied
in 12 provinces. As well as
in Azuay and Santo
Domingo, where we will
apply the Electronic Vote
pilot project.
40 moving
polling stations–
more than 1000
people with
disabilities
served.

11. Representation of the optional vote in Ecuador

12. Social Networks:
Facebook.com/RoxanaSilvaCh
Twitter: @roxanasilvach
Web: www.roxanasilva.com
Cel: 593-9-9654 6745
Roxana Silva Ch.