The Executive Director of Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Mr. David Anyaele on TVC morning show responding on how persons with disabilities can vote in the Edo State Governorship Election said that it will be undermining the provisions of national disability act as well as undermining the INEC access and participation of PWD’S frame work which they designed to enhance the participation of PWD’S if PWDs stay away from Edo Election.
From the research we conducted which our respondents are PWDs themselves, they assured us that will be voting which will exposure them to hardships and danger. They are worried about the security situation of the state and they are asking INEC collaborate with relevant security operatives to ensure safety environment to enable PWDs to vote for a candidate of their choice.
Some respondents in the research they conducted said that they are not given priority voting. It is not expensive to ensure priority voting, INEC can actually allow the deaf persons to come to the polling booths with their sign language interpreters and also engage some volunteer sign language interpreters to support them.
He lamented the absence of Disability law in Edo State, he called on governor Obaseki to liase with State Assembly to domesticate Disability Act in the state because most of these challenges stem from the cultural stigmatization and discrimination which make the public believe that PWDs have no need to participate in politics.
The security operatives especially the police and army should not allow Kogi experience to happen in Edo. Fake policemen and soldiers were seen in Kogi election and if it is allowed in Edo election, it will undermine the credibility of the election. The security personnel should clear the areas and get the raid of holdrums so that vulnerable people like PWDs can vote, he added.
He stated that PWDs are worried about that, infact it is one issue that raised in the focus group discussions in our survey for INEC preparedness for election.
He complained about the inability of Edo State government to domesticate Disability law, PWDs in Edo have tried to create awareness on the about the act but it seems government is not listening. The challenges have been highlighted in the presence of the governor and he has even made a promise in 2016 that Disability Act will be domesticated .
Since then we are yet to see that and we are saying that Edo state indigenes with Disabilities are the brightest in Nigeria and they deserve their rights to be protected and they participate actively in politics and other sphere of life
