The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the 2023 general election will record mass participation of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) due to the provisions of the new Electoral Act.
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman, said this at the North Central Voter Education Campaign for the participation of PWDs in the Electoral process tagged “Able2vote”
The campaign was organised by The Albino Foundation (TAF) in Abuja on Wednesday.
The INEC chairman lauded TAF for initiating the campaign.
The campaign was aimed at reducing voter apathy as well as promoting the mainstreaming of PWDs in the electoral process, assuring that INEC was ready to provide the necessary assitive devices.
He said that data from INEC voters register showed that a lot of PWDs were registered voters.
We owe it as a duty to our democratic and electoral processes as well as national growth and development to encourage their active participation as citizens with equal rights.
One of the progressive provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 is the specific provision on the participation of PWDs in the electoral process.
Section 54 provides for assistive and inclusive devices which in a sense has codified some of the initiatives already undertaken by the commission.
The introduction of assistive devices such as the Braille ballot guide, magnifying glasses and posters for the deaf were all products of our engagement with the disability community, he said.
In implementing the provisions of Sec. 54 of the Electoral Act 2022, we will continue to engage with the disability community without which the Commission cannot provide the appropriate interventions needed to facilitate their full participation in the electoral process, Yakubu added.
According to him, to serve PWDs better, INEC would need more reliable data on people with disabilities, particularly the locations with the largest concentration of PWDs.
I am glad that working together, a lot has been generated. On our part, we have also gathered data on disability from the last voter registration exercise disaggregated by type of disability.
For instance, we now know the percentages of new registrants with albinism, blindness, hearing challenges, spinal cord injuries, downs syndrome, little stature etc, he said.
However, Yakubu has urged the government, proprietors and service providers to make available facilities for education ,health care accessible for PWDs not just for the purpose of election but as a matter of responsibility and inclusion.
He added that the exclusion of PWDs has affected a significant part of the Nigerian population from effective participation in many areas of human endeavour, especially political and leadership roles at all levels.
Yakubu said that INEC in partnership with the disability community, would continue to make them feel inclusive by making PWDs serve as ad hoc staff in the election.
Jack Epelle, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder The Albino Foundation, commended Yakubu for his doggedness in ensuring PWDs are included in the electoral process .
PWDs will also be focusing on electability a programmes focused on those vying for elective offices and those that will be appointed into appointive offices.
We have the data centre that will focus on data around disability inclusion ,not just that but we also interested in the forth coming census and we have put all the parameters in place to ensure that we participate fully.
We are going to be deploying 700 members of Persons With Disabilities as observers in our electoral hub in partnership with INEC.
We will deploy an on-the-spot app that will give us an on-the-spot assessment of what is happening in every polling unit for real time data, he said.
Furthermore, Epelle added that for the first time in the history of the country, sign language interpreters would be deployed in the two Houses of the National Assembly with salary payment for three years and interns would be sent to 10 states Houses of Assembly for legislation.
Mr Nasir Kwarra, the Chairman, National Population Commission (NPC), said that the commission was working towards a successful census in the country.
According to Kwarra, PWDs would be carried along in the census process both to serve and to be served as participants because inclusion was part of the commission’s key word.
The Executive Secretary, National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Mr James Lalu, said, political parties have been excluding PWDs from their activities.
He added that due to the intervention of INEC PWDs are been considered by a lot of political parties.
I believe completely that the solution to proper disability inclusion in Nigeria is proper participation in the electoral process.
The just concluded Continuous Voter Registration enabled us to get our voter cards and it has now forced politicians to start seeking attention from the PWDs in Nigeria.
However ,we still maintain our stand that we will only vote for parties that have our interest at heart, he said.