Electoral participation of people with and without disabilities in urban communities in Cameroon and Senegal

The right to participate in political processes is fundamental to democratic governance, economic development and human rights.

We assessed participation in political processes and also explored factors associated with voting at the most recent election for people with and without disabilities.

We conducted cross-sectional survey in four cities in Senegal and three in Cameroon in 2021. Disability was assessed using the Washington Group Short Set of questions. Univariate and multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify the factors associated with voting at the most recent elections.

Among 4180 participants in Cameroon and 4171 in Senegal, disability prevalence was 9.77% and 10.89%, respectively. More than half of the participants had voted at the most recent elections in both Cameroon (52.31%) and Senegal (58.27%). Participants with an interest in politics, having all the key documents or registered with a political party were more likely to have voted in both countries. Adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, people with disabilities were less likely to have voted compared to those without disabilities in Cameroon (odds ratio [OR] = 0.58 [0.40, 0.84]) and in Senegal (OR = 0.36 [0.26, 0.44]).

There is an urgent need to address the socio-political and environmental factors that have been identified so as to close the disability gaps in voting and ensure equitable opportunities and levels of political participation between people with and without disabilities.

This article contributes to the existing knowledge base on the political participation of people with and without disabilities in Cameroon and Senegal.