As Malawi prepares for the 2025 Tripartite Elections, MACOHA hosted a pivotal consultative meeting with various Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs). The gathering aimed to collect important insights on the challenges, concerns, and aspirations of persons with disabilities regarding political and electoral participation.
The meeting was particularly significant, given the historical exclusion of persons with disabilities from electoral processes in Malawi. MACOHA acknowledged the diverse experiences of OPDs, which had faced barriers in previous national elections. By engaging with these organisations, MACOHA looked for to ensure that the 2025 elections are disability-inclusive, allowing persons with disabilities to exercise their fundamental right to political participation.
The meeting brought together representatives from various OPDs, including: Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (FEDOMA), Disability Organisation Movement (DROM), Association of Persons with Albinism (APAM), Visual Hearing Impairment Membership Association (VIHEMA), Mental Health Users and Cares Association (MeHUCA), Spinal Injuries Association of Malawi (SIAM), Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities (APDM), Malawi Union of the Blind, Malawi National Association of the Deaf (MANAD), and Epilepsy Warriors Foundation.
The consultative meeting aimed to gather input on fundamental issues, practices, concerns, experiences, and aspirations related to political and electoral participation, inform the approach towards a disability-inclusive 2025 Tripartite Elections, and ensure that persons with disabilities are integral actors in the disability rights sector.
By facilitating the meeting, MACOHA demonstrated its commitment to empowering persons with disabilities to shape public affairs, governance, public policy, and development policy. The right to political participation is essential for persons with disabilities.