A group on the platform of the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has said the inclusion of persons with disabilities in electioneering and electoral practices is still far from international best practices.
This is even as it urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders to take practical steps to ensure equal voting access to persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
CCD Executive Director David O. Anyaele made the observation in their Interim Report for the February 23, 2019 presidential and national assembly general elections, made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday.
The Report commended the commission, for implementing section 26 of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2019 which provides that in queues, persons with disabilities should be first considered.
It however expressed the concern that minimal efforts were made by the Commission to demonstrate commitment in the implementation of INEC Framework on Persons with Disabilities’ Access and Participation in the Electoral Process as many of the Polling Units observed were not accessible to persons with disabilities.
“Findings shows that the deaf/hearing impaired were the worst hit as high number of the PUs visited had no voting procedure information pasted in the walls of the PUs.
The Report noted that “INEC paid low attention to access to PUs to persons with physical disabilities, hence observers’ reports that significant number of PUs were sited at an inaccessible environments.
It further noted that the much publicized Braille materials and Ballots for the blind were invisible at the PUs visited, which suggests that INEC paid lips service to blind persons participation in the electoral process.
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The CCD in its recommendation called for the full implementation of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2019 by INEC even as it urged the NASS to urgently strengthen section 52 (2) of the 2010 Electoral Act by making the provision of Braille and sign language interpreters mandatory as opposed to leaving it to the desecration of INEC as the case is today.
CCD also called on the Commission to train its officials on Equal Voting Access for persons with disabilities, Audit of INEC Polling Units for easy access to PWDs, standardize its collection of PWD data in pre-election and Election Day processes to enable them plan for the participation of voters with different forms of disabilities and make deliberate commitment to ensure PWDs have unhindered access to information through the use of sign language interpreters and provision of materials in Braille.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the CCD embarked on a Campaign for Equal Voting Access for Persons with Disabilities for the 2019 Presidential and National Assembly General Elections and was accredited by INEC in which it deployed female and male persons with disabilities as election observers in seven (Abia, Enugu, Gombe, Lagos, Kano, Plateau, and Rivers) States and Abuja FCT.
The CDD said the core objectives for the campaign included- examining militating and facilitating factors on persons with disabilities participation in the electoral process; sensitizing stakeholders on Equal Voting Access for Persons with Disabilities during Elections; and mobilizing Persons with Disabilities Participation in the electoral process.
The Findings from the election observation observed Priority Voting at 77% of the Polling Units (PU) for PWDs, Pasting of Voting Procedure at Polling Units at (47%) of the PUs visited ,(0%)Availability of Braille Instructional Materials and Sign Language Interpreters at Polling Units and lack of accessibility to location of Polling Units for PWDs.
