IFA Deploys 250 Observers To Monitor PWDs

The Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) and IFA Vote-Ability Campaign has said that it deployed 250 Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) observers to randomly selected polling units in 21 states, including the FCT to monitor the participation of PWDs in this year’s general election.

The Executive Director, IFA and Convener of the IFA Vote-Ability Campaign, Grace Jerry, said this yesterday in Abuja at the pre-election press conference and tour of the Election Observation Data Center for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

She also said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would deploy 21,165 magnifying glasses for persons with albinism and low vision; 8,117 Braille ballots for blind voters who are able to read braille; and 6,167 EC30E PWD posters, a pictorial election instruction for deaf voters and other electorates.

According to her, “The trained PWDs will observe the effective deployment and utilization of the PWD assistive materials in the presidential and national assembly elections. They will also observe the setup and physical accessibility of the PUs.

“The Data Center is set up to collect, analyze, and share real-time information on the accessibility, inclusion, deployment, and use of the PWD assistive materials at the designated PUs by INEC, using the #VoteAbility Election Observation mode,” she said.

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Jerry said the observers will prioritize deploying to PUs that INEC has identified as locations where it will be deploying PWDs assistive materials.

She said, “The 250 PWDs voters are spread across the following states: Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Lagos, Oyo and Ogun for the SouthWest region; Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara and Sokoto for the North West; Plateau, for the North Central; Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, for North East; Edo, Delta, Bayelsa for South South; Anambra, Abia, for the South East zone, and the FCT, Abuja.

She also urged INEC to stand by its commitment to providing the Braille ballot guide and other materials during the general elections.

Jerry said, “INEC should ensure effective and consistent use of Form EC40H to capture disaggregated data of PWDs voting on Election Day in line with their type of disabilities. INEC should fully enforce its policy of priority voting for PWDs so that PWDs are not required to stand in line for long hours as witnessed in previous elections.

“The IFA Vote-Ability Campaign calls on the Police and other security agencies to protect all voters and election observers, especially those with disabilities. Voters and election observers with disabilities face peculiar mobility and other challenges that make it difficult or impossible for them to run to safety during election-related violence and chaos.

“We are making a special appeal on behalf of the 250 observers with disabilities that we will deploy on Election Day. We call on the media to focus on how PWDs are faring as they report on the nation’s election.

“We understand that the media is often more fixated on election outcomes or results, but wish to note that their reports will be incomplete if they fail to pay due attention to a huge constituency like PWDs. Nigerians need to know what was done to accommodate PWDs, and the media is the gateway to achieving that.”