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The CEC takes measures to enable and facilitate elections participation of persons with disabilities
As part of its efforts to enable electoral participation of persons with disabilities in the upcoming elections, the CEC has mainstreamed all of its electoral procedures and awareness material in addition to the rehabilitation of a number of polling centers to suit all types of disability.
In this context, the CEC has, for the first time, equipped 11 polling centers to accommodate visually impaired voters and facilitate their movement. The selected centers were carefully chosen with the largest number of visually impaired voters. The visually impaired can now fill in ballot papers without the need of assistants to help them do so. However, they can still choose assistants provided they are second degree relatives.
On the other hand, despite the fact that the majority of polling centers are rehabilitated for the needs of physically impaired voters, there are still centers which are not. In order to facilitate the access of physically impaired voters to non- rehabilitated polling centers, the CEC has designated polling stations (rooms) located at ground floors to facilitate movement and encourage participation.
With regards to publications and awareness material, all were produced taken into consideration the needs of persons with disabilities and the illiterate. The CEC published 5000 brochures in Braille and various picture illustrative brochures on voting procedures targeting the illiterate. This is in addition to providing the CEC’s webpage with a screen reader for the blind and the visually impaired.