Ganesh KC

On September 12, CIL-Kathmandu held an advocacy meeting with the general secretary of CPN Unified Socialist Party Mr. Beduram Bhusal, at the party office regarding the disability-inclusive electoral candidacy for the upcoming provincial and federal level elections.

As an important activity of the project to ensure disability-inclusive electoral candidacy, under the support of the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), the advocacy meeting attended by different disability activists and politically affiliated persons with disabilities, advocating for the access and representation of persons with disabilities in the policy/decision-making level. The president of CIL-Kathmandu Mr. Tek Bahadur Gurung also handed a position paper developed to summarize the standpoints and issues of disabilities with regards to the electoral access of persons with disabilities.

In response, the general secretary Mr. Bhushal expressed his gratefulness for the gentle reminder and said that the political party is sensitive enough, and the leaderships are aware enough to make the legislative body inclusive for all including the socially marginalized. He further added that the meeting has further provided support and pressure to properly ponder and implement the issues of inclusion both in the practice and official documents including the election manifesto. The team of delegates also requested the party authority to revisit and examine the chances of misrepresentation and underrepresentation of persons with disabilities and the further marginalized groups within.

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On September 8, 2022, an advocacy meeting was held at the party office of CPN UML to promote the electoral access and candidacy of persons with disabilities and the marginalized sectors within. Under the coordination of CIL-Kathmandu supported by the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives-CFLI, the delegates with disabilities from different organizations of people with disabilities and political parties joined the discussion held with the office secretary Mr. Bhisma Adhikari. 

The president of the organization also presented a position paper outlining the demands and issues of persons with disabilities with regard to their candidacy promotion and inclusive access in relation to the upcoming provincial and federal election scheduled for 20th November. The submitted memorandum clearly stated the position of people with disabilities to lobby for creating a favorable environment within the political parties to ensure the inclusion and representation of persons with disabilities so that they can have access to the decision/policy making. In addition, the letter also cautioned the leadership to evaluate the risk of underrepresentation and misrepresentation.

The secretary Mr. Adhikari – gracefully accepted the issues raised, and promised to present the paper even with the party heads. Furthermore, he added that efforts have been made to date, and it will continue to grow and become more inclusive to incorporate all the backward communities along with the people living with disabilities.

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An orientation program was organized by the Center for Independent Living with Persons with Disabilities, Kathmandu (CIL-Kathmandu) under the support of Canadian Funds for local Initiative-CFLI on 6 September 2022 for the likelier candidates with disabilities to promote their electoral candidacy for the upcoming provincial and federal level election. Organized to boost the motivation, knowledge, and awareness of the interested individuals having the possibility of being chosen in the closed list of the candidates or for the directly electing system, the program held focused on enhancing the information and interest of the persons with disability and developing their electoral skills.

The event was organized at Hotel Hardik on 06 September, dividing the interaction into three sessions. In the first session, the representative from the gender and social inclusion section of Election Commission Nepal, Mr. Kamal Bhattarai oriented the attendees on the constitutional, legal and policy-based provisions favoring the political and electoral involvement of persons with disabilities. He also identified the challenges experienced during the implementation of the policy and programs and showed his commitment and solidarity in increasing the representation of persons with disability in the electoral process. The participants drew the attention of the facilitator to the malpractice of selecting people without disabilities in the compulsive parts as well, emphasizing the issue of compulsory provision of disability cards before finalizing the disability section in the closed list. The trainer also reassured of the possible support from the side of the election commission and informed the participants about a hotline number where the issues of violation of rights and complaints of electoral issues can be recorded to be launched very soon.

In the following session, Manish Prasai, the expert on disability and accessibility shared his knowledge regarding the political rights and electoral candidacy of persons with disabilities prioritizing the need for political representation and candidacy of persons with disabilities. Mr. Prasai added that historically a misconception has been constructed that the persons with disabilities are to be ruled by ‘someone else but not they themselves and also the people with the majority of those without disabilities set some standards as per their conveniences and started recognizing all the differences and diversity as ‘inability’ or ‘abnormality’, therefore limiting the access to different parts of life including the political and electoral access. The participants shared their experiences on the lack of sensitization of issues among the persons without disabilities elected by them in the elections before. Focusing on article 29 of UNCRPD, the session encouraged the candidates to claim and step forward for their rights to political and public participation and representation.

Finally, the last session facilitated by disability campaigner and expert in the disability sector Maheshwar Ghimire previewed the condition and practice of electoral processes in Nepalese history, emphasizing the inclusion of underprivileged sections of the society including persons with disabilities. The participants noted the problem of bad practices of choosing people without disabilities from the disability quota in the proportionate election, and the misrepresentation and negligence of political parties while finalizing the closed list and also during the selection of candidates for the FPTP method. Activist Ghimire also shared his knowledge on the inadequate efforts from the disability sector and weaker and ineffective conditions of disability unions within the political parties leading to their exclusions. The compulsory inclusion of persons with disabilities and active role and contribution from all the stakeholders can only guide the representation of persons with disabilities at the policy-making level as shared by the attendees in the interaction.

To boost the leadership skills, capacity, and political awareness of persons with disabilities, and also to create a welcoming atmosphere in the political arena for the candidacy of persons with disabilities, CIL-Kathmandu has launched a project under the support of the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) focusing on the upcoming election. The lobby/advocacy campaigns, awareness, and skill enhancement will be going in hand in hand’ said the secretary general of CIL Mr. Ganesh KC.

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To promote the electoral candidacy for the upcoming provincial and federal level elections, an orientation program was organized on 6 September 2022 at Hotel Hardik for potential and interested candidates with disabilities. The event was organized by the Center for Independent Living of Persons with Disabilities, Kathmandu (CIL-Kathmandu) in partnership with Canadian Fund for Local Initiative (CFLI) The orientation attended by 25 participants with disabilities focused on the importance of disability-inclusive electoral candidacy, its pre-existing conditions, practices, and perceptions, as well as the steps ahead for the improvement in the future.

The program began with the formal sitting attended by the deputy chief of Mission of Canada Amanda Strohan, Stefanie Bergeron; the first secretary of CFLI, along with the leaders of organizations of persons with disabilities, and activists, as well as the representatives of CIL Kathmandu and different agencies. During the welcoming and inauguration ceremony, different speakers drew the attention of the stakeholders regarding the exclusion, deprivation, and challenges faced by the disability community while exercising their rights and being represented in political and policy-making levels. The speakers also expressed their dissatisfaction with the indifference and partiality of the political leadership and Government bodies to incorporating persons with disabilities.

The former president of the National Federation of Disabled Nepal (NFDN) Shudarshan Subedi expressed his gratefulness and appreciation for CIL-Kathmandu for the effort despite the prevailing challenges and barriers. He further added that people with disabilities who are the likelier candidates should be capacitated to break the chain of access denial and reach the level of developing policies and programs to include their representation. The chief of the National Disabled Women Federation, Nirmala Dhital added that the projects as such would be effective to ensure the representation and access of persons with disabilities, and moreover of those intersectionally marginalized sectors including the women with disabilities. During his speech, the president of the National Disabled Fund; Mr. Degraj Bhattarai said that the attention and priority of the Government towards the entire disability community is negligible. Reminding the worsening condition of the basic aspects of the only Government body for people with disabilities, he shared that challenges and barriers are enormous. Head of the social development Department of Kathmandu metropolis, Mr. Deepak Adhikari outlined the necessity of improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities and shared that the local Government is committed to doing so. He further wished for an increment in the number of people with disability in the to-be-formed parliament. 

Sharing her pleasure to participate in the opening session, the chief of Canadian Mission, Amanda Strohan, also the chief guest of the formal session, accepted that the conditions and status of persons with disabilities are yet marginalized. She added that the progress and development of society and the state can only be possible through the contribution of all the sectors of the society, and this would only be possible when all the sectors are included and participated at the political levels. Wishing the best for the success of the event, she hoped to see the people represented and included in the electoral process.

During his closing remark the chairperson of CIL-Kathmandu, and also of the ceremony Mr. Tek Bahadur Gurung said that the underrepresentation of people with disabilities ought to be challenged, and the project as such would contribute to breaking the chain of exclusion in the political and electoral arena. He added that the project would only be considered successful if it foresees the increased number of representatives with disabilities. 

CIL-Kathmandu through the lobby and advocacy programs with the stakeholders for disability-inclusive electoral access and workshops/pieces of training for capacity and leadership development of the potential candidates will make its best effort for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in both proportionate and directly electing systems for the upcoming election, leading to their representation in the parliament, as said by a CIL representative.

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On 4 September 2022, an advocacy meeting was held with the president of Rashtriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Mr. Rajendra Lingden, to lobby for disability-inclusive candidacy provisions for the upcoming provincial and federal elections on. The team from CIL-Kathmandu, led by the president, submitted a memorandum comprising the demands/issues and presenting the position of persons with disabilities with regard to their representation and participation in the electoral process under the project supported by the Canadian fund for local initiatives-CFLI.

The position paper raised the issues of persons including women, Dalit, indigenous, Madhesis, and gender minors with disabilities to ensure and confirm that the people from these categories can have access to the policy/decision-making level. Moreover, the challenges of accessibility, the likeliness of misrepresentation and underrepresentation, and consideration of disability-sensitive agendas in the electoral manifestoes were also reminded through the letter presented. The meeting was attended by disability rights activists and associates with disabilities from the different political wings of political forces.

Mr. President reassured the respectful representation and prioritized inclusion of marginalized sections including those with disabilities and committed to diligently reviewing that the chances of misrepresentation and underrepresentations are addressed well.

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