Every adult Dutch citizen has the right to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections in March 2017. But in order to vote, it is crucial to understand what the political parties stand for.
Reach more voters? It's simple
Information about where parties stand on certain issues is not accessible to everyone. For this reason, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights is calling on political parties to write their most important election issues in a simplified version. This way, their points of view will be accessible to people with a mental disorder, learning disabilities or poor literacy.
"In the next elections, don't you want to reach the over 2 million people who currently do not yet understand what is in your election program? As a political party, you can make sure that your election program is accessible with understandable language and image. This way, you will enable more than 2.5 million illiterate people and people with learning disabilities or a mental disorder to understand the position of your party. These people can make a well-informed decision on 15 March 2017."
The right to vote is included in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stresses that this is also the case for people with disabilities.
Tell us where you stand
The most important political standpoints are often too difficult for people with a mental disorder, learning disabilities or poor literacy, perhaps because the sentences are too long, for instance, or because difficult words are used.
To reach everyone, it can therefore help to write down a political party's views in clear and simple language. And who can do that better than the parties themselves?
The Institute for Human Rights has written a letter to political parties asking them to do this before the upcoming elections on March 15, 2017. The letter is supported by the Coalition for Inclusion, Ieder(in), LFB, MEE NL, Per Saldo, ProDemos - House for Democracy and the Rule of Law and the Reading and Writing Foundation.
