“ I feel that certainly it is our right to choose, but we forget that the second part is to be elected and someone with a disability almost never has a real chance of winning; there has been one person with a disability who is engaged in positions that are powerful. And not only that, but everything relates to decision making; political parties are very inflexible in that case, and there is no room for persons with disabilities to have a say in political parties. ” Nomination Persons with disabilities must first join and become active in political parties before they can become viable candidates. Low levels of participation often result from apathy, lack of confidence or family pressure. Apathy can affect all voters, but inclusion programming should ensure apathy is not caused by a lack of information in accessible formats. It should also address discrimination on the part of political parties unwilling to welcome members and/or candidates with disabilities. Section 3 Blind woman from Guatemala City; Anonymous quote from focus group discussion recorded in IFES’ Assessment of Election Access Barriers, Guatemala43 Good Practice Down Syndrome Ireland launched the My Opinion, My Vote project in six countries – Ireland, Italy, Malta, Hungary, Spain and Denmark – to enable adults with Down syndrome to become better engaged with every aspect of the democratic process, including voting and advocating for issues important to them. As part of the project, the political manifestos of parties were put in easy-to-read format so participants could make informed decisions on Election Day. Some countries, such as Zimbabwe, have introduced quotas to ensure persons with disabilities are included as parliamentarians. Implementation of quotas can be challenging, not least because of the perception that representatives do not have power equal to other members. As with gender quotas, in some cases, persons with disabilities who gain office through quotas struggle for authority. There are also numerous questions regarding how disability quotas can be enforced. Depending on the type of electoral system, does the law mandate each party must nominate a certain number of persons with disabilities? How will countries ensure the minimum number of persons with disabilities is elected? Also, who qualifies as having a disability? Must candidates have visible disabilities? Do candidates have to represent different types of disabilities? Rather than introducing quotas, it can often be more effective to focus on voter education initiatives that sensitize the general public to the rights and abilities of persons with disabilities. Targeted advocacy efforts with political parties can also result in a mindset change within the party so persons with disabilities are included in leadership positions and seen as equal members. The approach to this issue is something that must be decided based on the context of each country.44 44 Assessment of Election Access Barriers in Guatemala. International Foundation for Electoral Systems. <http:// www.IFES.org/Content/Publications/News-in-Brief/2012/Dec/~/media/Files/Publications/Reports/2012/Guatemala Report_Survey_DPO Leaders_ FINAL.pdf>. Equal Access: How to Include Persons with Disabilities in Elections and Political Processes 53