Israel Oluyemi
TAF Africa, a group representing Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), has said it deployed 150 election observers and 25 sign language interpreters for the November 8 Anambra governorship poll.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the group, Amb. Jake Epelle announced this during a stakeholders’ engagement on preparations for a disability-inclusive election held in Awka.
Epelle said the move aimed to promote full participation of persons with disabilities and ensure that no one was left behind in the electoral process.
He stated that PWDs had the right to priority voting, which allowed them to vote before others or as soon as they arrived at their polling units.
He explained that the 25 sign language interpreters were positioned in areas with large numbers of hearing-impaired voters.
He added that the 150 observers monitored accessibility and participation of PWDs across polling units.
Epelle urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to uphold its pledge on inclusion and protect PWDs during the election.
He said INEC should walk the talk by ensuring that the inclusivity it preached was properly implemented.
He commended INEC for introducing assistive tools, including braille ballot guides for the blind, magnifying glasses for persons with albinism, and form EC30 for the deaf.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Anambra, Dr. Elizabeth Agwu, reaffirmed that INEC remained committed to conducting a disability-inclusive election.
She said efforts were made to ensure that persons with disabilities participated both as voters and as electoral officials.
Agwu explained that all non-sensitive materials were distributed and that BVAS machines were fully configured for the 5,720 polling units and 183 split units, with 1,000 extra units for backup.
She assured that there were no hitches because alternative networks and backups were provided to guarantee smooth operations.
She, however, warned that voter apathy remained the biggest threat to the exercise.
She called on residents to come out and vote instead of staying home, playing football, or drinking while the election was ongoing.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Anambra, SP Ikenga, said the police trained officers to ensure a peaceful and inclusive election.
He explained that restriction of movement during the election was a security strategy and not meant to punish anyone.
He added that officers were directed to give special attention to persons with disabilities.
Similarly, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Edwin Okadigbo, said the command activated a PWD desk to protect voters with disabilities from intimidation and discrimination.
Participants at the event included members of the disability community, civil society organizations, and the media.
They all pledged to support a peaceful, credible, and inclusive Anambra election.