Regulations need revision to resolve issues faced by the disabled when voting: Elections Commission

Elections Commission (EC) has said that the regulations pertaining to the voting rights of the disabled need revision in order to resolve the issues faced when the physically disabled cast their votes.

EC member Ali Mohamed Manik said last night the biggest challenge for the Commission when handling complaints received during elections is resolving the issues faced by the physically disabled when they cast their votes, and the Commission will work towards finding a solution to this problem:

“We faced more problems than usual related to voting by the disabled in the recent local council elections. We are working on formulating a special procedure for this.”

He noted that regulations pertaining to the voting rights of the disabled do exist, however require revision and more a detailed description of the procedures.

Article 25 of regulations on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities indicates that persons with disabilities have the right to cast secret ballots without the influence of another person. Disabled persons who are not able to cast their votes on their own have the freedom to assign the responsibility to another person, with the help of whom the disabled person has the right to cast his ballot.