Inclusion and Participation of People Living with Disabilities in the PNG General Election

Abstract

The Papua New Guinea (PNG) government’s stated value of ‘Free, Fair and Safe Elections’ calls for a ballot box accessible for all eligible voters, but this is often not the case for a significant proportion of the population (ANU DPA 2018). While this issue has been recognised for many years, the particular challenges facing people living with disabilities (PLWDs) is a more recent concern highlighted by international and civil society organisations (CSOs) and taken up by the PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC), which affirms the PNG government’s Social Inclusion Policy. Whether PLWDs have effectively participated in election processes is an open question. This case study, undertaken as a study within a larger study of the 2022 elections, assessed how PLWDs participated in the 2022 national general election, in order to assess how inclusive the election systems and practices were of PLWDs. While it is important to acknowledge that many of the problems of access faced by PLWDs during PNG’s elections are also faced by those living without disabilities, the findings show that inclusion of PLWDs is far from the reality. This research, carried out by PLWDs, is the first time PLWDs have been formally engaged in election observation in PNG and is the first discrete study to focus on the particular problems they face. Show more