Inclusive Friends Association ( IFA ) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to bring polling units down from the verandas of public buildings to the floor or build ramps and handrails at polling units located in public buildings to make them more accessible for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
The Executive Director of IFA, Grace Jerry noted this at the just concluded National Stakeholders roundtable meeting in Abuja in partnership with National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Participate yesterday.
She explained that the political participation is clearly rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which mentions the right
of every person to equal participation in public affairs, the right to vote and to be elected, and the right to access to public service.
She said though, IFA made important progress to strengthen the capacity of persons with disabilities to advance their rights and participate in political processes and to improve government inclusion of and responsiveness to persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
According to her, IFA’s goal is to identify good practices nationally by engaging with Disabled Persons Organizations, policymakers, and disability experts working on legal capacity reform and supporting decision-making arrangements for political and public life participation of PWDs.
Other recommendations, according to her is that INEC strengthens the training of its ad-hoc on PWD friendly aids and processes like the braille ballot guide, EC30 D PWD, EC40H, priority etc. to ensure the inclusion and participation of PWDs in the 2021 Anambra governorship elections and other upcoming elections .
“Ensure that training for election officials, election administrators, security and political party leaders includes information and education about the rights and needs of persons with disabilities.
“The NOA and the INEC Voter Education and Publicity department should collaborate with other media providers to increase the accessibility of their output, while media outputs can be made
more accessible for PWDs through subtitles, sign language interpretation and audio descriptions
“In the run-up to elections , communication material that provides instructions for voting and information on candidates should offer clear explanations in simple language, and be easily available in different formats,” she said.