Abubakar Yunusa ABUJA

A Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make elections more inclusive for the People Living With Disabilities (PLWD).

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the 2023 Governorship and State House of Assembly Elections, the Executive Director, IFA, and Convener, Access Nigeria Campaign, Grace Jerry said they deployed 250 observers in the last election stating that people living with disabilities were not provided with the necessary infrastructure to enable them vote despite the fact that alot of them came out for the exercise.

“We deployed 250 observers in the last election and the report was not satisfactory,” Grace said adding that a lot of people with disabilities did not see their ballot to use.

“The election day poster was deployed reasonably but it did not go round. The general feedback didn’t show that the preparations and plans by INEC chairman for the people living with disability to vote was not satisfactory. The people living with disabilities came out en masse to vote but they did not see their materials to use, ” Grace said.

According to her, despite making up 15% of Nigeria’s population, and the provision of the Electoral Act mandating INEC to provide PWD election assistive materials, Nigerians with disabilities in previous elections including the just concluded February 25,th 2023 general elections have documented barriers at various stages such as Polling units not always accessible to voters with physical impairments, absence of ramps and handrails for use by PWDs, inadequate deployment of Form EC30E PWDs for deaf voters, Braille Ballot Guide for Blind Voters and magnifying glasses for persons with albinism and low vision, and general polling unit layout which makes it difficult for PWDs with physical impairment.

“The Campaign calls on all PWDs that are registered to vote and have their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCS) to go out en masse and vote for the candidates of their choice. Voting remains one of the major ways to influence policies that would shape their lives.

“PWDs should take safety precautions by leaving voting places when they begin to sense any danger to their lives. They should call designated security numbers when safely out of danger. Our message to the PWD community is to encourage you to vote, but to prioritize your safety.

“The IFA’s Access Nigeria Campaign calls on INEC to stand by its commitment to providing the Braille ballot guide during the march 18th 2023 governorship and state house of Assembly election.

“INEC should also guarantee the provision of other PWD-friendly election materials including the Election Day written instructions (EC 30 E PWD), magnifying glasses, and Braille Ballot Guide.

“INEC should ensure effective and consistent use of Form EC40H to capture disaggregated data of PWDs voting on Election Day in line with their type of disabilities. INEC should ensure that they harvest the data of persons with disabilities recorded in form EC40H to further guide the deployment of assistive materials.

“INEC should fully enforce its policy of priority voting for PWDs so that PWDs are not required to stand in line for long hours as witnessed in previous elections,” Grace said while calling on the Police and other security agencies to protect all voters and election observers, especially those with disabilities.

She also called on the media to focus on how PWDs are faring as they report on the nation’s election.

“We understand that the media is often more fixated on election outcomes or results but wish to note that their reports will be incomplete if they fail to pay due attention to a huge constituency like PWDs. Nigerians need to know what was done to accommodate PWDs, and the media is the gateway to achieving that.

“While we commend INEC for taking steps to make elections in Nigeria more inclusive especially in the recruitment of PWDs to serve as ad hoc staff as observed and reported by our observers in the just concluded February 25th 2023, general elections. This satisfies the IFA’s demand and meets the requirements of Section 29 of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities Act 2018.

“However, INEC needs to take deliberate steps in the forthcoming governorship and state assembly elections to ensure the effective deployment and usage of assistive materials as mandated by the electoral Act 2022,” Grace added.