ECP fails to make arrangements for special people
Polling stations not special people friendly, excluding them from voters’ lists
Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
As Pakistan is preparing to go to polls and every community is ensuring its participation in the national activity, not enough measures have been taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the persons living with disabilities (PWDs).
ECP has excluded PWDs rather including them in the electoral process, representatives of disabled people claimed.
‘ECP’s code of conduct must be followed’
The ECP was supposed to take various measures to ensure the participation of PWDs in elections, including collecting their data, registering them as voters and making polling stations PWD friendly, but it could not even collect the data and register them to cast ballots.
Representatives of PWDs speaking at an event called the postal balloting initiated for them a move of exclusion rather than including them in the process.
A consultative discussion on “Political Rights of Women Living Disabilities: Challenges, Barriers and Solutions,” organised by Potohar Mental Health Association (PMHA) with the support of OXFAM was held on Wednesday. Persons living with disabilities especially women living with disabilities and distinguished guests from different organisations and walks of life attended this event.
PMHA President Zulqurnain Asghar said according to the 2017 census there are some 3.2 million PWDs in Pakistan though that is not an accurate figure but even if it is accepted about 16 per cent of them are eligible to cast votes.
He said about 190,000 PWDs possess special CNIC and 165,927 are registered voters. He said in an international conference of Asian Pacific countries in Sri Lanka in 2014 the ECP had pledged for effective electoral participation of PWDs but it could not even register all PWD voters or collect their data.
He said the ECP has allowed persons living with disabilities to vote through postal ballot but it’s a tedious and difficult process and has a drawback of denying PWDs the option of going out to cast their vote. “Firstly, it’s hard to get ballot paper for them then it will reach to the ECP after few days when the results are out. Don’t know whether they will be counted or not. This process limits PWDs at homes rather than encouraging their active participation in polls”.
There should be ballots in Braille too rather, he asserted, polling stations easy to access for wheel chair bound people, and signs displayed for haring impaired people. The ECP staff should be trained to facilitate PWDs during polls and there should be representation of special people in ECP staff, he said.
He urged that disability must be incorporated in political parties’ manifestoes to increase the will about PWDs specifically women living with disabilities so they can emerge as a leader.
While talking about women living with disabilities, Noreen Khan, Assistant Legal Director Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal said that women living with disabilities faced double discrimination from society; on basis of disability and also gender discrimination. They have to face many barriers during the course of their life, she also highlighted the barriers for gaining education to job placement, to casting vote or even considering being a part of staff in electoral process. She suggested that such barriers can only be eliminated if PWDs are included as leaders or staff members in educational institutes and in electoral process as role models.
ECP swarmed by politics, politicians
IDRAC Executive Director Amjad Nazeer said: “We need to make a comprehensive paradigm to include not only physical disability but also various forms of disabilities.”
He too supported the active participation of person living with disabilities as staff of different organizations including the ECP. He also opined that though postal ballet is made available but still PWDs needs to exercise their electoral rights to participate directly by self.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2018.
As Pakistan is preparing to go to polls and every community is ensuring its participation in the national activity, not enough measures have been taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the persons living with disabilities (PWDs).
ECP has excluded PWDs rather including them in the electoral process, representatives of disabled people claimed.
‘ECP’s code of conduct must be followed’
The ECP was supposed to take various measures to ensure the participation of PWDs in elections, including collecting their data, registering them as voters and making polling stations PWD friendly, but it could not even collect the data and register them to cast ballots.
Representatives of PWDs speaking at an event called the postal balloting initiated for them a move of exclusion rather than including them in the process.
A consultative discussion on “Political Rights of Women Living Disabilities: Challenges, Barriers and Solutions,” organised by Potohar Mental Health Association (PMHA) with the support of OXFAM was held on Wednesday. Persons living with disabilities especially women living with disabilities and distinguished guests from different organisations and walks of life attended this event.
PMHA President Zulqurnain Asghar said according to the 2017 census there are some 3.2 million PWDs in Pakistan though that is not an accurate figure but even if it is accepted about 16 per cent of them are eligible to cast votes.
He said about 190,000 PWDs possess special CNIC and 165,927 are registered voters. He said in an international conference of Asian Pacific countries in Sri Lanka in 2014 the ECP had pledged for effective electoral participation of PWDs but it could not even register all PWD voters or collect their data.
He said the ECP has allowed persons living with disabilities to vote through postal ballot but it’s a tedious and difficult process and has a drawback of denying PWDs the option of going out to cast their vote. “Firstly, it’s hard to get ballot paper for them then it will reach to the ECP after few days when the results are out. Don’t know whether they will be counted or not. This process limits PWDs at homes rather than encouraging their active participation in polls”.
There should be ballots in Braille too rather, he asserted, polling stations easy to access for wheel chair bound people, and signs displayed for haring impaired people. The ECP staff should be trained to facilitate PWDs during polls and there should be representation of special people in ECP staff, he said.
He urged that disability must be incorporated in political parties’ manifestoes to increase the will about PWDs specifically women living with disabilities so they can emerge as a leader.
While talking about women living with disabilities, Noreen Khan, Assistant Legal Director Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal said that women living with disabilities faced double discrimination from society; on basis of disability and also gender discrimination. They have to face many barriers during the course of their life, she also highlighted the barriers for gaining education to job placement, to casting vote or even considering being a part of staff in electoral process. She suggested that such barriers can only be eliminated if PWDs are included as leaders or staff members in educational institutes and in electoral process as role models.
ECP swarmed by politics, politicians
IDRAC Executive Director Amjad Nazeer said: “We need to make a comprehensive paradigm to include not only physical disability but also various forms of disabilities.”
He too supported the active participation of person living with disabilities as staff of different organizations including the ECP. He also opined that though postal ballet is made available but still PWDs needs to exercise their electoral rights to participate directly by self.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2018.