Advocacy meeting with a political party to promote the disability-inclusive electoral candidacy

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.