Rights of the Disabled and Pre-Election Propaganda
The Verkhovna Rada and the president have come under a storm of rather bizarre accusations of violating the Constitution. On December 8 the people’s deputies passed a law signed by Leonid Kuchma “On Electing the President of Ukraine.” One of its clauses restricts voting at home. From now on, only first-degree invalids can enjoy this privilege. Presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych said this state of affairs infringes the rights of voters classified as second- and third-degree invalids. “The President of Ukraine signed this law, thus denying four million voters the right to vote,” Mr. Yanukovych said. “This is an attempt to unlawfully recognize the win of the ‘orange people’ in this country.” According to the “white-and-blue” candidate, three out of four million disabled Ukrainians live in industrial areas and would thus cast their votes in favor of him. Luhansk Oblast Council Chairman Viktor Tykhonov also noted that when the Verkhovna Rada deputies were passing the resolution to restrict home voting, they failed to take into account the structure of eastern Ukraine’s population “which is comprised of a considerable number of disabled individuals.”
The Day tried to find out to what extent this amendment to the electoral law will affect the overall election process. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, there are 2.5 million disabled people, including children and those who are barred from voting, registered in Ukraine. Out of this number, almost 319,000 are first-degree invalids who are allowed to vote at home. Another 146,000 are children who, naturally, will not be able to vote, while 80,000 mentally impaired invalids will also not be voting. This means that in any case fewer than two million second- and third-degree handicapped will go to the polls. In regional terms, Donetsk oblast has 101,000 invalids, i.e., more than other regions (cf. 61,000 in Lviv oblast). This may be attributed to population density. In other words, if you count the number of disabled per thousand residents, Donetsk oblast does not come first. According to this comparison, Chernihiv oblast places first with 76 invalids per thousand residents, leaving Donetsk oblast far behind with only 52, Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk with 56 each, Lviv oblast with 58, and Luhansk oblast with 49. Incidentally, 55,000 disabled individuals live in Luhansk oblast, i.e., 6,000 fewer than in Lviv oblast. Therefore, even if the shortage of invalids’ votes has some impact, it will not necessarily swing the election in favor of the “orange people” and, of course, not to the extent claimed by Mr. Yanukovych’s supporters.
Still, quite a few people will find it very difficult to come to the polling stations. According to the letter of law, second-degree invalids are individuals who have lost the ability to engage in a regular professional activity but require no constant help from other persons. According to Oleksandr Osadchy, a member of the Society for the Blind, most second-degree invalids can move about by themselves and, accordingly, will get to the polling stations. Third-degree invalids are even more likely to do so. Only those who have no degree of disability degree, but are unable to move around experience real problems. Wheelchair-bound people also encounter difficulties because few buildings in Ukraine are equipped with ramps, so they are inaccessible to these kinds of invalids.
Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn believes local government bodies could solve this problem by providing some transport. Ihor Popov, chairman of the Ukrainian Voters Committee, called on NGOs and parliament to explain to the disabled that this restriction had to be adopted to stave off vote rigging. “These people should be helped by all available means. My request is: give us some transport if you can; if not, carry them in your arms-yes, even this! We want Donbas to confirm its choice,” said Donetsk Mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko.
In other words, the problem does not look insoluble if, of course, we really want to help the disabled get to the polling stations. This is a serious endeavor for civic organizations, the local government, and the candidates’ headquarters, if they are truly interested in a fair election. The more individuals vote by themselves, the fewer chances there are that somebody else will “do this for them.”
