Spain: Parliament commits to open the right to vote for all

Our work brings the voice of people with intellectual disabilities and their families where decisions about their future are made. This has always been incredibly important. It is even more so with the Covid pandemic drastic impact on their rights and lives. Being visible and vocal on issues directly affecting millions of people requires your...

Spain: Parliament commits to open the right to vote for all

Victory for people with intellectual disabilities in Spain: The campaign of our member Plena Inclusión was successful

Click here for the easy-to-read version

How can you make politicians listen to you if you are not allowed to vote? The right to vote is a basic right of every citizen. Unfortunately, many European countries including Spain have so far deprived people with intellectual disabilities of this right due to laws that do not grant them legal capacity.

Our member Plena Inclusión co-organised a campaign in February after the Spanish Constitutional Court had declined a request from a family to allow their daughter, Mara, to vote. The campaign requesting a change of the current law was supported by Inclusion Europe.

Plena Inclusión has now shared the news that the process for revising the current General Electoral Regime Law (LOREG) has been started by the Spanish Parliament – the decision was taken unanimously. The legislative initiative will hopefully nullify certain sections of the current law and therefore give 100,000 Spanish people their right to vote.

Plena Inclusión celebrates that “the foundations” have been set to “end what is probably the most flagrant discrimination” of citizens with intellectual disabilities in Spain. Inclusion Europe wholeheartedly shares the excitement about these good news: We would like to congratulate Plena Inclusión on their successful advocacy work and hope that the new law will be adopted as quickly as possible.

Other European countries should take the Spanish case as an example and abolish similar laws that discriminate against people with intellectual disabilities. States should also make sure that accessible, easy-to-read information on the elections is widely available.

 

 

Easy-to-read version

Click on a word which is in bold to read what it means.

How can you make politicians listen to you if you are not allowed to vote? 

 

The right to vote is a basic right of every citizen.  

But in many European countries like Spain  

people with intellectual disabilities cannot vote.  

 

Plena Inclusión helped organize a campaign in February 

after a woman with an intellectual disability called Mara  

was not allowed to vote.  

 

Plena Inclusión is an organization in Spain that fights 

for the rights of people with intellectual disabilities. 

Plena Inclusión is a member of Inclusion Europe.  

 

The campaign that was organized by Plena Inclusión was  

to change the law to allow people with intellectual disabilities 

to vote in Spain.  

 

Inclusion Europe supported this campaign.  

 

Plena Inclusión has now shared the news that the Spanish Parliament 

has started the process to change the law.  

 

Everyone in the Parliament voted yes to changing the law.  

 

This will help lots of people with intellectual disabilities vote.  

 

This is the first step to ending something that is very discriminatory towards people

with intellectual disabilities.  

 

Inclusion Europe is very excited about this news.  

We congratulate Plena Inclusión on their work and  

hope that the new law will be changed as quickly as possible. 

 

Other countries in Europe should get rid of laws that discriminate  

against people with intellectual disabilities.  

 

Countries should also make sure that the information about elections 

is accessible.

Our work brings the voice of people with intellectual disabilities and their families where decisions about their future are made.

This has always been incredibly important. It is even more so with the Covid pandemic drastic impact on their rights and lives.

Being visible and vocal on issues directly affecting millions of people requires your support. 

Become Inclusion Europe supporter and help us keep doing our work.

 

 

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