HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, Aug 8: Ahead of the Assembly election in Nagaland due early next year, state commissioner for persons with disabilities Diethono Nakhro has written to Nagaland chief electoral officer to take all measures to enable all voters with disabilities to exercise their franchise without any obstacles or barriers, in line with the Election Commission of India’s strategic framework on accessible elections.
In her letter on Monday, Nakhro pointed out Section 11 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016. As per the Act, “The Election Commission of India and the state election commissions shall ensure that all polling stations are accessible to persons with disabilities and all materials related to the electoral process are easily understandable by and accessible to them.”
The aspects included in the ECI’s strategic framework on accessible elections such as advisory to political parties, pre-poll and poll day preparation/facilitation, training/sensitisation, physical access and facilities at polling stations, etc. were underlined for action in the letter.
The ECI advised the political parties to have their constitution and manifestoes in an accessible format and make their websites accessible for all persons with disabilities.
As per the strategic framework, all political consultations and campaigns should be made accessible to persons with disabilities in terms of infrastructure, information and communication and the booth Level agents (BLAs) of political parties may have representation from among persons with disabilities (PwDs).
It said the BLAs and polling agents should be sensitised about the right to equal participation of persons with disabilities in the electoral process.
The ECI framework called for consolidation of the database of voters with disabilities according to polling stations to facilitate the planning of services to be offered, training and sensitisation of polling personnel, transportation facilities and availability of required volunteers.
It said training and sensitisation of election officials and staff should be conducted so that they understand and are empathetic to the needs of voters with disabilities. The training should be factored into regular training for the staff as also for the registration and facilitation of the PwDs, it added.
Nakhro also requested that a meeting of the state steering committee on accessible elections with other stakeholders should be called at the earliest to deliberate on an action plan to ensure accessible elections for voters with disabilities.