EC puts in place measures for disabled persons to vote

The Electoral Commission (EC) says it has put in place necessary measures to ensure that Persons with Disability (PWDs) actively participate in this year’s elections.

A member of the commission, Saadatu Maida, made these remarks at a Disability Rights Fund (DRF) meeting in Accra. She said the EC is acting on its mandate to ensure that all eligible voters, including the vulnerable, were secured.

The DRF is a United States (US) based international body which empowers persons with disabilities to advocate equal rights and full participation in society. Ghana is among other three African countries that benefit from the DRF.

Saadatu Maida mentioned that the EC has designed most polling stations in a disability friendly ways to make it accessible for PWDs. Even though she indicated that some of the polling stations were still inaccessible, she explained that the EC is doing all it can to make them disability friendly.

She also said

She further revealed that the EC had trained the visually impaired on the use of the tactile ballot system to help them vote without someone having to point or choose for them to thumbprint.

The President of the Ghana Federation for the Disabled, Mr Yaw Ofori Debrah, said the EC had put in great effort to ensure they exercise their franchise in a convenient environment. He expressed their gratitude to the EC for the efforts they are making to ensure PWDs participate in the electoral process. he said. He admitted the Federation needed to boost the courage of its members to seek public offices like any other person.