Home > 1.3.2.2 Voting procedures > MONTENEGRO - Urgent Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on Elections of Members of Parliament and Councillors
 
 
 
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Paragraph 71
 

Positively, Article 86 of the draft requires polling stations to be accessible for persons with disabilities and places explicit responsibility on municipal election commissions for ensuring this. However, the draft law does not define or regulate this requirement, and an additional regulation is necessary to ensure protection and effective implementation of voting rights of persons with disabilities. Such regulation would require the introduction of a mechanism to ensure that the voting process is inclusive and fully accessible for persons with disabilities in order to establish the appropriate conditions for the voters with disabilities to form and express their choice independently and in line with international standards and national legislation. The voting modalities should allow disabled persons to vote in person, not through proxies (Article 110.1 of the draft law). Positively, the draft law envisages voter notifications to be also available in a format accessible for persons with disabilities; however, it makes the delivery of such notifications conditional on a prior request by a voter or his/her authorized representative. The need for voters with disabilities to proactively seek to receive election-related information in a user-friendly manner is not fully in line with international standards. The legal framework should guarantee the inclusive participation of persons with disabilities in elections.