Persons with disabilities decry non-inclusion during general elections

Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Anambra chapter, has urged Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure adequate provisions for their members during elections.

Chairman of JONAPWD in the state, Mr Ugochukwu Okeke, told newsmen on Thursday in Awka, that persons with disabilities experienced some challenges during the last general elections.

Okeke said there was lack of accessibility to some facilities where polling units were located by the physically challenged people, especially those on wheel chairs.

He also said that there were no sign language interpreters for the deaf voters, forms EC40H and EC30E were equally not available.

“We also observed the nonavailability of braille ballot papers for the visually- impaired voters and magnifying glasses for persons with albinism.

“Again, there was lack of cooperation by some INEC ad-hoc staff. These challenges marred the efforts at ensuring inclusive voter participation during the exercise,” he said.

Okeke urged INEC to address the challenges in order to prevent voter apathy and ensure enduring inclusive voter participation in subsequent elections in the state.

He, however, commended the electoral umpire for developing an online data collection platform where its members were encouraged to report their experiences during the elections.