Liberians with disabilities want access to electoral materials, polling places

The President of the Nimba County Disable Community, Madam Naddy Doe is calling on the National Elections Commission or NEC to put in place mechanisms that will help people with disabilities participate in the 2017 Presidential and Representative Elections.

Madam Doe said for some time now physically-challenged Liberians have been encountering difficulties in exercising their political franchise during elections due to insufficient electoral materials, denying them the opportunity to elect their leaders.

Madam Doe made the call in Sannequilie, Nimba County recently when the National Elections Commission hosted a stakeholders’ meeting on the impending elections. According to her, it is electoral materials provided by NEC that will help them to be able to elect their leaders.

She also indicated that visually impaired people also suffered greatly during the time of elections, terming the situation as very worrisome to Liberia’s democracy. She stressed that as the 2017 elections draw near, it is about time the NEC works assiduously to ensuring that proper measures are put in place for people with disabilities to enable them participate in the process, especially visually impaired citizens.

She said in spite of their disabilities, it is their constitutional right as Liberians to participate in whatever elections that are conducted in the country, once they reach age eighteen. “Let NEC provide election materials for all disables so as to enable them have access to the elections, and be able to elect their choice of leaders,” Madam Doe said.

She said electoral materials should be accessible to people with disabilities, which should enable them to identify candidates of their choice on the ballot papers.

By Zee Roberts-Editing by Jonathan Browne