Access Nigeria, a Dsability Rights movement led by Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) has, in a campaign tagged: “Disability Votes Matters” urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stand by its commitment to provide “brailled ballots” guide for blind voters during the Anambra governorship elections.
IFA made the call at a Pre-Election Press Conference on polling units accessibility audit on the Anambra Governorship elections.
Grace Jerry, the Executive Director of IFA, had in her remarks, urged INEC to provide other PWD-friendly election materials like magnifying glasses, including Election Day instructions in written form as mandated by the Election Act (EC 30 E PWD).
Jerry also tasked INEC to ensure effective and consistent use of Form EC40H for capturing disaggregated data of PWDs voting on Election Day in line with the various disabilities groups.
She further reiterated that “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.”
Jerry admonished stakeholders in Anambra to ensure peaceful, accessible and credible governorship elections in the State.
She urged registered PWDs to get their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) and go out en masse to vote candidates of their choice. She reminds that “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 phone numbers when safely out of danger. Our message to the PWD community is to ensure you vote, however, in doing that, safety should be prioritized, she advised.
The Access Nigeria Campaign calls on the Police and other security agencies to protect all voters and election observers, especially those with disabilities.
“Voters and election observers with disabilities face peculiar mobility and other challenges that make it difficult or impossible for them to run to safety during election-related violences and chaos.”
“We have met and received assurances from the Anambra State Police Commissioner and State commandant of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). However, we still wish to reiterate our concerns in view of the security challenges ahead of the Anambra State Governorship elections.
“The Access Nigeria Campaign and PWDs in Anambra state are really concerned about security ahead of the elections and call for special protection for voters and observers with disabilities.” She said.