After ECI guidelines, charting a path to disability inclusion in politics

Guidelines Overview

• The advisory comprises 11 guidelines categorized into three categories
  • Disability-Inclusive Communication
    • Addresses usage of ill-health terminologies for persons with disabilities (PwD)
    • Avoids dehumanising language and stereotypes.
  • Information Accessibility
    • Ensuring information accessibility on political party websites.
    • Holding events at accessible locations.
  • Inclusion within Party Frameworks
    • Developing training modules on disability for party workers.
    • Striving to include PwDs at all levels of a political party.

Limitations and Suggestions

1. These guidelines are only an “advisory”, though the phraseology of a few guidelines is in mandatory language.

• A uniform mandate is needed across all guidelines under disability-inclusive communication, accessibility, and party frameworks.

2. These guidelines are still not part of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)

• As per the advisory, the breach related to disability-inclusive communication would make political parties and their members prone to action under section 92 of the RPwD Act.
• However, it is unclear whether a breach of other guidelines will also invoke this provision.
• The guidelines must be integrated into the MCC to enforce compliance, similar to gender guidelines.

3. Ambiguity in guidelines regarding specific phrases like "blind," "deaf," and "dumb".

• This requires a detailed list of disability-sensitive words and phraseology under the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy.

4. The draft National Policy for PwD didn’t have any chapter on political inclusion.

• As the ECI advisory is expected to catalyse the political inclusion of PwD, a chapter on political inclusion in the national policy should be incorporated.
• This will align with the principles of Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

5. Absence of data on the number of legislators with disabilities.

• The ECI doesn’t have any column on disability in the nomination forms and affidavits filed by contestants during elections.
• The lack of data has contributed significantly to the political exclusion of PwDs.