THE family of a young woman with Down's Syndrome who has been denied the right to vote by the Supreme Court has applied to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Supreme Court is the highest contentious audience in Spain, but not the highest in the land – this is the Constitutional Court, which exists purely to interpret the country's Magna Carta, but which has declined to take on the case.
This means Mara's family has licence to go to Europe, and their solicitor, Lourdes González, expects her case to be heard some time in January.
Mara's parents say the Constitutional Court has 'missed a great opportunity to debate' whether the mentally-handicapped should be allowed to cast their ballot in elections.
They applied in summer 2014 for power of attorney of her and for her 'legal capacity' to be annulled based upon her disability, but did not want her to lose her right to vote.
However, without 'legal capacity', she automatically loses this right.
Despite the overall refusal of the Constitutional Court to handle the case, one member of its magistrate team, Adela Asúa, dissented, recalling that being able to vote is a 'fundamental right' in accordance with Article 23 of the Magna Carta.
“What would happen if the entire electorate had to undergo the same test of basic knowledge of our political and electoral system as is asked of the mentally-handicapped? If we did, many more people who currently do have the right to vote and who are not disabled would be barred,” Sra Asúa said.
Disabled support associations have strongly criticised the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court for 'ignoring the rights' of the non-able bodied by failing to make clear the exact limits on entitlement to vote.
They say they 'trust the electoral reform' the government is expected to bring into effect this year will 'remove these discriminations'.
Nearly 100,000 Spaniards are denied the right to vote because of some type of mental handicap, mental illness or cognitive deterioration.
In all cases, their condition means they have lost the 'legal capacity' to make decisions, which includes signing contracts and entering into formal agreements, and which automatically brings with it a ban on voting.
The Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities and Down's Syndrome (CERMI) has offered Mara's family 'all the help they need', including legal assistance, chaperoning and advice, when it comes to having their case heard in the European Court of Human Rights.
