The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has organized a training workshop for visually impaired persons in the New Juaben South Constituency of the Eastern Region to promote inclusivity in the upcoming December 7 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The workshop focused on educating the visually impaired about the use of the tactile jacket, a voting aid designed to help visually impaired individuals cast their ballots independently.
This initiative forms part of the EC’s broader efforts to ensure that all eligible voters, particularly those with physical disabilities, can exercise their franchise confidently and without assistance.
The training also familiarized visually impaired persons with the numbering of candidates on the ballot paper for both the Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, approximately 1% of Ghana’s population is visually impaired, underscoring the need of such inclusive measures in a crucial electiom such as the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Ms. Gifty Nyamekye Manteaw, the Acting Municipal Electoral Officer for New Juaben South, highlighted the importance of the tactile jacket in reducing the challenges faced by visually impaired voters.
“We trained visually impaired persons to use the tactile jacket with little or no assistance. This will boost their confidence to participate in the election process,” she said.
Ms. Gifty Nyamekye Manteaw further assured visually impaired voters that they will not be given special treatment including bypassing queues to vote as soon as they arrive at the polling stations.
The Eastern Regional Women’s Wing Coordinator of the Ghana Blind Union (GBU), Sarah Asiedu, praised the EC’s commitment to inclusivity, describing the training as a significant step toward empowering visually impaired voters.
Visually impaired participants expressed readiness to vote in the elections, acknowledging the EC’s efforts to make the process accessible and seamless for them.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
