The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission has urged Persons Living with Disabilities and other vulnerable populations in the state to involve themselves in electoral processes to widen the country’s democratic space further.
According to a statement on Saturday, the Permanent Secretary of LASIEC, Dr. Olayiwole Onasanya, gave this advice while receiving members of the Centre for Citizens with Disability on a courtesy visit to the agency’s headquarters in Yaba.
Onasanya said that the commission would implement strategic plans and training to ensure all-inclusive participation during the state and national elections.
He said, “In a democratic society, every citizen, regardless of ability or disability, rich or poor, has the right to elect their leaders. In pursuit of sustainable development, an all-inclusive process is a key factor that should be left out.
“LASIEC, in the implementation of her new strategic plan, established a distinct unit in the commission to carry out recommendations in various reports on how to encourage PWDs to participate and make their participation in elections very easy. LASIEC officials will continue to be trained on how PWD clusters could be assisted and encouraged to exercise their franchise.”
The Programmes Officer, CCD, Mr. Peter Ekemini, who presented an election monitoring report of the last local council poll to the commission, decried the exclusion of PWDs during elections.
“PWDs experienced systematic exclusion during previous national and state elections in Nigeria. For instance, polling materials are often sighted at inaccessible positions for PWDs to vote. We also noticed that polling booths were positioned across gutters. There were no braille versions of electoral materials for blind people.
“Special priorities were not given to these people, including persons with albinism who can’t stay in the sun for too long due to health risk. I urge LASIEC to examine the contents of this report for implementation and an inclusive electioneering process,” he stated.