The Upper East Regional Branch of the Ghana Federation of Disability Youth, is appealing to the Electoral Commission to provide fair grounds for persons with disability to enable them exercise their franchise on the day of election.

According to them, the EC in previous elections has made voting cumbersome for them which made it difficult for them to cast their votes.

Upper East Regional chairman of the Ghana Federation of Disability Youth, Mr. Mark Akuberi, said this when the Municipal Assembly disbursed the 3% disability component of the assembly’s common fund to 126 beneficiaries.
He called on the EC to create a conducive environment for persons with disability to cast their votes on December 7.

“The Electoral commission should make the various polling stations accessible to persons with disability especially the visually impaired, hearing impaired and all other physically challenged persons because if the voting centers are inaccessible with open gutters and staircases, it may scare us from going to vote.”

“The visually impaired wants to vote without any assistance from others because they may guide us to vote wrongly for a candidate or against our will. So what we are saying is that, tactile ballot jackets should be issued bad on the number of presidential and parliamentary candidates at all polling stations so that we can vote without any difficulty.

We also want the EC to exempt persons with disability and their relatives that brings them to the voting centers from joining the long queues to vote.”

Mr. Akuberi impressed on political parties to involve persons with disability during their rallies to enable them understand their manifesto in order to make informed choices on the day of election.

“Political parties are organizing rallies and talking to the electorates, they should involve persons with disability. They should get interpreters to help the hearing impaired to understand policies of political parties during rallies so that we can make the right choices on election day.”

Mr. Akuberi appealed to the security agencies to identify persons with disabilities at various polling stations especially in conflict zone areas; and protect them to leave these areas in case of chaos.

source:citifmonline.com