Abstract
The electoral system is one of the most fundamental elements of representative democracy. Despite the significant role of elections in the democratic process of a nation, they are seen as extremely unpleasant events, often leading to significant stress among vulnerable sections of the population. Moreover, there is a growing concern regarding the political exclusion of people with mental illness (PwMI) often due to the lack of proper legal safeguards. Moreover, election related violences also significantly impacts the mental health of individuals, especially those with mental health conditions. There is a need to systematically understand the interrelationship between the electoral process and mental health so that policies can be made to ensure the electoral rights of PwMI and mitigate election-related mental health crises. In this narrative review, we tried to explore electoral rights and electoral participation of PwMI, and the mental health impact of elections, politically motivated violence, and election-related policies, especially focusing on the Indian setting.
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Notes
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, National Disability Rights Network, and Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP: VOTE. It's Your Right: A Guide to the Voting Rights of People with Mental Disabilities. Available at: http://www.bazelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/voting-rights-guide-2016.pdf. Accessed January 15, 2023.
Violence against women in politics. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/ViolenceAgainstWomeninPoliticsReport.pdf. [Accessed online on 25/06/2023].
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Krishna, P.J.S., Uvais, N.A. Elections and Mental Health: A Narrative Review. J. Psychosoc. Rehabil. Ment. Health (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-023-00360-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-023-00360-5