A noticeable feature in Goa’s Lok Sabha polls on Tuesday has been the large participation of persons with disabilities (PsWD), which was one of the primary objectives of the Election Commission of India. The commission has been working to make elections more accessible and inclusive.
Goa has 7474 PsWD registered voters. Special arrangements such as wheelchairs, manual magnifiers, braille ballot papers and ramps have been made available at all 1,652 polling booths in the State.
Moreover, all PsWD have been provided a special badge “Most Valued voter” for smooth access to polling stations. Ezy Mov free wheelchair taxi services have been provided in Panaji for pickup and drop for PsWD by the election authorities in Goa. Two dedicated officials have been posted at each booth to ensure a more inclusive polling process. A total of 665 visually impaired voters have been provided with Braille voter cards.
Avelino de Sa, president of Goa Disability Rights Association, who is suffering from cerebral palsy and locomotor disorder, expressed happiness for the enhanced infrastructure and awareness drive initiated by the election authorities.
In the last 2017 State Assembly polls, around 2500 PsWD had cast their franchise in Goa. However, he pointed out some flaws.
“Many ramps have not been done with gradient as per specification and some are without railings on both sides,” de Sa told The Hindu on Tuesday. “These inadequacies need to be removed by involving stakeholders and experts much ahead of developing the infrastructure.”
To make the voting experience more accessible and hence inclusive, two polling booths, one in each parliamentary constituency, have been managed by PsWD. Targeted training sessions were held for the hearing and visually impaired, and people with intellectual disability as well as transgenders.
Demonstration of voting machines was also provided to these voters, besides sensitisation of all polling staff for appropriate treatment of PsWD and transgenders. The facilitation for PsWD was done under a special nodal officer Taha Haaziq, a Special Officer on Duty in State Directorate of Social welfare, the nodal department for PsWD and one nodal officer each in Lok Sabha constituency.
Special care was taken by the election authorities to nominate icons who are PsWD in the State and District levels to encourage the participation of disabled voters. They include celebrities and senior government officials.
Writer and artist Frederika Menezes, who has cerebral palsy and also wheelchair bound, also a North Goa District disability voting icon, told The Hindu after voting that facilities are fine but she was not happy with the high platform for electronic voting machines inside the booths.
“I am a person with brains. Every time I want to vote by pushing the button myself. As an icon I had suggested prior to the election that the EVMs should be brought at a lower level as wheel-chair bound persons can neither see the symbols nor press the button ourselves,” said Ms. Menezes (39) adding, “I had to take my mother's help. True empowerment will come for PsWD when we can press the button ourselves, not by just giving facilities.”
“All these efforts have resulted in a visible change in response and participation of the disability sector, mainstreaming of PsWD in Goa,” Mr. de Sa said. More improvements in making elections disabled-friendly need to be implemented by looking at suggestions made by persons like Ms. Menezes.”
