Tactile voting materials assured for visually impaired — EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) has given an assurance that it will make available adequate number of ballot papers, known as tactile ballots, to enable the visually impaired to vote without hindrance.

The commission would also ensure easy access to the polling stations and polling booths for persons with disability (PWDs), as well as the marginalised and socially excluded groups in the forthcoming elections.

The Volta Regional Director of the EC, Kofi Dzakpasu said this in Ho last Thursday when the Africa Disability Institute (ADI), in collaboration with Star Ghana Foundation, launched a project aimed at promoting the inclusion of PWDs in the forthcoming general election.

The project is being funded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom.

Participants

The event brought together representatives from various political groups, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the Department of Social Welfare and other state agencies, as well as civil society organisations.

There were also representatives of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations.

Mr Dzakpasu said some PWDs would be assisted to vote by their own choice of family members or the presiding officers at polling stations.

The EC, he said, would continue to maintain a firm stance to ensure no eligible person was excluded from the electoral process.

In that regard, Mr Dzakpasu said consideration would be given to qualified PWDs in the recruitment of polling officers.

The Operations Manager of the ADI, Charles Nyante said the project would be carried out in both the Volta and Oti regions.

Beneficiaries

He mentioned Nkwanta North, Krachi West, Krachi Nchumuru districts and the Nkwanta South municipality in the Oti Region as the beneficiary areas.

In the Volta Region, the project would be implemented in the Adaklu, Akatsi North, Central Tongu, Ho West and Agotime-Ziope districts, as well as the Ketu South municipality, the project manager said.

Mr Nyante said the project’s objective was to enhance accessibility to the voting centres for PWDs and voting materials.

That also included providing disability-sensitive training for electoral officials in the two regions, Mr Nyante added.

He said the right to participate in elections was universal and the ADI was committed to ensuring PWDs exercised that right without barriers.

The Human Resource Manager of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, Daniel Kwabla Gbologa pledged the council’s commitment to leave no stone unturned to ensure every eligible person voted without hindrance.  

“Every voter is important in the electoral process,” he pointed out.

The Programmes Officer of the NCCE Regional Office, Edmond Babatunde, said the commission would continue to carry out vigorous public education on the electoral process with the appropriate messages to ensure the general election took place smoothly.