The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to increase the inclusion and accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to the voting process of the 2024 General Election.

It noted that there were unresolved problems in member accessibility during voter registration and said such issues must be addressed ahead of the December polls.

Mr Richmond E. Dadzie, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, GFD, made the call during the presentation of the Monitoring Report of the Limited Voter’s Registration Exercise, at the GFD National Advocacy Committee’s engagement with the EC in Accra.

The observation exercise was conducted in forty-five districts across nine of the sixteen regions, with five districts observed in each region.

It was to monitor how accessible and inclusive the electoral processes in the country were to the PWDs.

The observers who had various impairments, including visual, hearing, and physical impairments, as well as albinism, were accompanied by their assistants and sign language interpreters.

The Electoral Commission is an independent body established by the Electoral Commission Act (Act 451) of 1993, mandated to oversee elections in Ghana.

The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD), formerly known as the Ghana Federation of the Disabled, was established in 1987 as a national umbrella of organisations of PWDs with full legal status under the laws of Ghana.

He said the EC must enhance the physical accessibility of PWDs as the GFD engaged it in guidance on how to select accessible centres or make centres accessible.

Mr Dadzie said according to the report, 68.9 per cent of the Registration Centres were accessible to persons with mobility-related disabilities, however, a significant minority of 31. per cent were inaccessible.

He said the centres, hosted in multi-storey buildings, presence of sub-standard ramps, uneven surfaces, lack of washrooms and multiple issues affecting different disability groups, did not make the exercise inclusive enough.

The Advocacy Committee recommended that the EC ensured the availability of sign language interpreters to assist deaf and hard of hearing individuals by liaising with the Ghana National Association of the Deaf through GFD to identify sign language interpreters in the localities or districts.

It said the EC must also provide clearer, more readable signages, and provide Public Address (PA) systems with its audio versions at all centres for visually impaired persons and people who had difficulties reading the information displayed at the registration centres.

Dr Serebour Quaicoe, Director for Training, EC, said it was mandated for the Commission’s offices to be in accessible places, hence, General Election and activities were conducted in open spaces, adding that the permanent district offices were mostly rented.

“… Most of the offices are rented or given by the Assemblies, so what you are given is what you use,” he stated.

Dr Quaicoe encouraged PWDs to approach the Presiding Officers and introduce themselves for assistance at polling centres because some of the disabilities were not visible.

The Director for Training said all officials were trained on how to deal with PWDs.

He said some mischievous people in the communities removed directional signs and some stole some of the materials like cardboard and used them as ceilings in their rooms after elections.

Dr Quaicoe said the EC in its bid to make the process more inclusive, was developing a system where some EC’s terminologies would be signed.

“We have identified about fifty or so terminologies that we can sign so they become international items, we have been given the green light and we are engaging the experts who would do that in sign language,” he explained.

Mr Emmanuel Laryea, Director of the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled, representing the National President of GFD, said the Federation must continue to sensitise and empower its members to be assertive and exercise their rights at the polling centres.

He said members must be educated on the registration processes and available resources and privileges they could enjoy.

Mr Laryea assured that the Federation would have further engagement with the EC to ensure that the electoral activities were accessible to and inclusive for PWDs.