Global Initiative to Enfranchise People with Disabilities: Nicaragua

Global Initiative to Enfranchise People with Disabilities: Nicaragua - www.electionaccess.org Text Only Version

Best Practices: IFES and other groups have implemented innovative practices around the world.

Laws and Regulations: A country-by-country analysis of election laws, constitutions and regulations, and how these affect citizens with disabilities.

Nicaragua

General Right to Vote
Constitution:
(1994)
• Article 51 states: "…Citizens have a duty to register to vote, to vote in popular elections…except as otherwise provided by law."

Exclusion Based on Mental Disability
Constitution:
• Article 134 states: "Candidates for representative in the National Assembly shall meet the following requirements…(2) enjoy full civil and political rights."
• Article 147 states: "Candidates for president or vice president of the republic shall meet the following requirements…(2) enjoy full civil and political rights."
Electoral Law:
(1996)
• Article 31 states: "In order to exercise the right of suffrage the citizens must…(1) be in full enjoyment of their rights."

Voter Assistance by Other Citizens
Electoral Law:
(1996)
• Article 125 states: "Persons who have a physical impediment may be accompanied by a trusted person to exercise their right to vote. This shall be noted in the respective minutes…"

Indelible Ink Excusal
Electoral Law:
(1996)
• Article 125 states: "…When the physical impediment is that of the upper extremities the mark with indelible ink may be done on any visible part of the body. This shall be recorder in the respective Minutes."