By Albert George Sheriff
For the first time since 1996 visually impaired voters in Sierra Leone will not vote independent of a sighted person, according to the National Electoral Commission.
The Outreach Officer of NEC, Albert Massaquoi, tells Politico that there will be no tactile ballot guide system for the visually impaired in this year's multitier elections, saying the Electoral Act of 2012 makes no provision for the tactile ballot system and that visually impaired persons should be accompanied by an individual of their choice on polling day to cast their ballots.
Not surprisingly, this has left the president of the Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues (SLUDI) hot under the collar.
Kabba Franklyn Bangura has accused the NEC of violating the rights of persons with disability, especially the blind, for not making provision for the tactile ballot system which is a kind of ballot system that aids blind brail users to vote independently.
In an interview with Politico Bangura says the decision by NEC has left the blind, who he says are the second largest category of disabled people in the country, out of the process completely thereby violating their fundamental human right.
He says the tactile ballot system was used in the 2002 and 2007 elections for literate visually impaired persons to vote without the aid of someone else.
“We see no reason why it cannot be used this time round,” he complains, adding that just a week will be enough to get the voting materials ready for such a voting system.
Quoting the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Bangura says it is a choice for a blind person to have assistance during voting and if a blind person is literate, they must be given adequate and free access to polling stations and voting materials.
He says the electoral laws of 2012 violates Section 29 of the Disability Act of 2011 and Section 36 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone which gives provision to individuals to vote in secret.
An Ex-Officio member representing the blind at SLUDI, Alhaji Daramy, says they will call a press conference to inform stakeholders and the media on the “gross violation” of their rights by this NEC decision.
