by TQM report,
Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) in furtherance of its activities on Access Nigeria Campaign called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure the deployment of all the assistive devices meant for persons with disabilities (PWDs) to all polling units in Anambra State, ahead of the off-cycle election to elect a new governor the State.
Executive Director, IFA and the convener of Access Nigeria Campaign, Grace Jerry made this call during her opening speech at IFA organized Stakeholders Roundtable on inclusive elections in Nigeria with special attention to Anambra off-cycle election on Thursday in Abuja.
The meeting which was supported by National Democratic Institute (NDI), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) witnessed the presence of INEC officials, PWDs leaders, CSOs and the media.
Grace Jerry urged INEC to deploy assistive devices such as braille ballot guide, magnifying glasses, election day written instructions to all polling units in Anambra State due to the unavailability of data for the PWDs who may need them in the state.
She recommended that INEC should ensure that the braille ballot guides dimensions matched the ballot paper to ensure successful use of the guides during the elections.
“INEC in collaboration, with NOA broadcasts voter education messages in the media on the use of the braille ballot guide, form EC30 E Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), magnifying glasses to assist voters vote appropriately.
“INEC ad-hoc staff must also be trained on PWD friendly aids and processes, like the braille ballot guide, EC30 E PWD, EC40H, priority voting and so on to ensure reasonable accommodation and better interaction with PWDs in governorship elections and other upcoming elections.
“This is because our observation from previous elections has shown that elections officials know little or nothing about these PWD election assistive materials.
“The Election Day Written Instructions (EC30PWD) should be properly deployed to all polling units and pasted at good locations to ensure that deaf voters understand election day procedures and vote without any communication problems,’’ she added.
Jerry said that magnifying glasses should also be provided for voters with impaired vision and those with Albinism, to ensure that they voted without difficulties.
“We commend INEC for on-going plans to train blind voters on how to use the braille ballot guides ahead of the governorship elections in Anambra state. This will make the usage of the braille guides a lot easier on Election Day” she added.
She said that the group had commended INEC for observing and practicing priority registration at the ongoing CVR in Anambra as reported by its observers.
“We recommend that INEC should also strengthen observance of priority voting at the forthcoming governorship elections, to assist voters with disabilities to vote without difficulties,’’ she added.
Jerry said that while the group commended the efforts of the security architecture in previous elections, there was need to call for a more robust security deployment that prioritises PWDs, considering the recent insecurity issues in the country at large.
Deputy Director, Chief Security Officer, INEC Headquarters, Mrs Lakunuya Bello who represented Dr. Adekunle Ladipo Ogunmola, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Commission’s Outreach and Partnerships Committee (OPC), commended the efforts of IFA and other partners for deepening the participation of PWDs in the electoral process, through the mainstreaming of disability issues in their operations.
She said that there was an additional online registration portal, where 2,763 centres and citizens could register physically nationwide and as it was their custom, PWDs who showed up at those centres were given priority to register.
Bello stressed that it was INEC’s responsibility, under the law, to provide every eligible Nigerian the opportunity to register, irrespective of where they live or other circumstances of life.
She encouraged all eligible persons with disabilities to avail themselves for the exercise, once the person is physical at the registration centre, he would be accorded priority and do not be afraid of the digital arrangement, it is the duty of INEC by law to find a way and get all eligible persons registered.
She reassured that preparations were in top gear for the conduct of the Anambra governorship election adding that all citizens would be able to cast their votes because the commission was committed to free, fair and credible elections.
She also said that INEC is poised towards creating access and mainstreaming of disability inclusion within the electoral space, and this can be seen with the level of passion, interest, and commitment that INEC staff who have been trained over time on disability inclusion has put in and still putting to ensure that disability inclusion is totally inculcated within the ambit of the Commission’s mandate.
She stated some activities INEC would be carrying out in Anambra to increase the participation of persons with disabilities, i. Engaging with PWDs in to build their capacities to engage their members at the grassroots, ii. Transcription of voter education materials in accessible formats, iii. Training of PWDs and Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) to cascade voter education at their individual clusters, iv. Organize PWD sensitization at the local government level, v. Organize television and radio programs targeting the PWDs and vi. Provision of assistive materials; Braille Ballot Guide, Magnifying glasses, Election Day Procedures Posters for the deaf etc to aid the PWDs participate independently at the polls.
TQM learnt that Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) would have perfected plans to deploy 200 PWD observers who would be observing the governorship elections in Anambra state.
Access Nigeria Campaign group promised that the communiqué/useful recommendations from the meeting would be implemented in Anambra for more accessible and inclusive Election.
