As political activities intensify ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has revealed how blind people will vote in the general elections. The Chairman of the Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed that ballot papers in braille will be provided for blind people during the 2019 elections, in order not to disenfranchise anyone.
Yakubu disclosed this during a campus outreach programme on the Continuous Voter Registration at the University of Abuja on Thursday. He explained that blind people above the age of 18 will not be disenfranchised as they will be allowed to vote unaided. He added that during the Anambra governorship election, the Commission had provided magnifying glasses for Albinos, while promising that wheelchairs would also be provided for crippled persons.
Yakubu said these measures are to ensure that people living with physical disabilities are not disenfranchised. According to him
“For the visually-impaired, we can provide ballot papers printed in Braille; for the albinos, we have started the use of magnifying glasses in Anambra, and for the other physically-challenged people, we will be deploying wheelchairs.”
