Making disabled persons votes count

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has organised a workshop on the plight of persons living with disabilities during elections. At the one-day event, stakeholders suggested ways to remove the barriers preventing them from participating more meaningfully in the electoral process. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE reports

 

THE view of stakeholders who gathered in Lagos recently was that election managers have not been fair disabled persons, because their plight is not taken into consideration when preparing for elections. Available statistics indicate that the disabled are always marginalised in the electoral process.

The event was attended by stakeholders from different parts of the country, including those living with disabilities, civil society organisations working in the interest of disabled people, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Like their able-bodied counterparts, people living with disabilities are also entitled to exercise their franchise, but because of lack of adequate facilities they are often marginalised.  So far, their complaints have yielded very little dividend. Stakeholders say it is now time to end the discrimination in order to promote harmony during elections. To achieve this objective, there must be a comprehensive policy to support the electoral rights of such persons, so that there can be a just society where every vote will count.

The Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Sam Olumekun said people with disabilities have a huge role to play in deciding those who emerge to serve as leaders. He said Lagos State has about 6.5 million registered voters, and that it possibly has the highest number of people living with disabilities in the country.

Olumekun said the commission has taken a number of steps to pave the way for persons living with disabilities to participate more actively in the electoral process. He said: He said: “Some of the activities include establishing a disability desk at the national headquarters, all state offices, as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, formulating policy for person with disabilities, providing various assistive devices during election, to mention a few.

“We often view those with disabilities through lens of deficit as against their strength. It is in the light of the foregoing that the commission is committed to ensure inclusiveness in the electoral process and it has taken giant strides in this regard.”

Stakeholders say there is need to develop a harmonised format to ensure uniformity in collation of the disaggregated data of persons with disabilities in the register of voters across the nation.

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To strengthen INEC for the task ahead, one of the strategies to achieve this is the development of an electoral database on persons with disabilities that will accommodate staff, voters and candidates.

Ogunmola said the commission’s commitment to access and equal participation of persons with disabilities in the electoral process was top on the agenda. He said: “This will assist the commission towards knowing the concentration of voters with disabilities, number, gender and type of assertive aid to procure and deploy.”

The Director, Civil Society Organisation, INEC, Mrs Lakunuya Bello said the exclusion of certain persons from the voting process cause more harm than good. She said this has denied the country the benefit and talents that it ought to tap into. She added the full potential of its members will benefit the electoral process when utilized.

Bello said it has become obvious that inclusive election cannot be achieved without accurate data of persons with disabilities aggregated by type. The unavailability of accurate data in the country limits the commission’s plan for inclusive and effective participation of persons with disability in elections.

The director added that the workshop will ensure that harmonious format will be adopted to ensure uniformity in collation of the aggregated data of persons with disabilities in the register across the country.

The campaign for persons with disability to vote is not new. In 2018, a pilot initiative was carried out in Osun State. For the first time, voters with visual impairment cast their votes through the Braille Ballot Guide for the governorship election.

Earlier, in 2016, there was a pilot project during the Edo and Ondo governorship elections, based on a sample, to ascertain the effectiveness of the Braile Ballot Guide. But the audits report was that persons with disabilities are constrained by barriers, including the absence of any assistive materials to allow voters with impairment to vote in secret.

Jake Ekpe, an advocate for persons living with disability, said there cannot be free and fair elections when persons with disabilities are prevented from voting. He said: “They have been marginalized in the past and the way out is for this gathering to come up with adequate solution that can guarantee voting for all.”

Ekpe, the promoter of the Albino Foundation, added: “We cannot have an inclusive free and fair election without knowing the number of people in this category. This is a very vital exercise, something that many of us started, I am glad we are beginning to get results.

“I am one of the proponents of getting recognition for the Albino in Nigeria and we saw the debate and recognition it engendered in the European Union Parliament. For that reason, I was invited to address the parliament.

“We were able to deliver elections at the grassroots, during the Ekiti local government elections. This is because we have the framework that works. It is that framework that will guide my own presentation during this meeting.”

The plight of persons living with disabilities is not just a national issue; the United Nations (UN) has been in the forefront to promote their rights to free and fair ballots. The UN believes discrimination against them in their aspirations to attain whatever position they desire amounts to injustice.