By Ado Oyeyemi
The Independent National Electoral Commission has assured persons with disabilities of inclusive participation in the 2027 general elections, promising to remove barriers that could prevent them from exercising their voting rights.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ondo State, Dr Mutiu Agboke, gave the assurance at a sensitisation workshop on disability intervention held in Akure on Wednesday.
Agboke said the workshop was organised to engage persons with disabilities, understand the challenges they face during elections and strengthen collaboration towards improving their participation in the electoral process.
He reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to ensuring that no eligible voter was disenfranchised because of disability, adding that measures were being put in place to improve access to polling units and other electoral services.
According to him, INEC is committed to ensuring that all eligible individuals and groups can participate in electoral activities without discrimination.
“People with disabilities are major members of our voting population, and we must ensure accessibility for them.
“I want to assure PWDs that INEC will create a level playing field, not just rhetorically, but one that will be evident on election day.
“Even before the election, we will make it easy for them to collect their Permanent Voter Cards. On election day, our staff will be friendly towards them, while security personnel will not discriminate against, harass or threaten them,” Agboke said.
The REC added that the commission would sustain its engagement with disability groups to ensure their continued involvement in the electoral process.
Similarly, the Director of Gender and Inclusivity at INEC, Mrs Dorothy Lakunuya Bello, represented by Mojisola Awelewa, assured that persons with disabilities would not be excluded from the forthcoming elections.
Bello said the commission had made provision for priority voting for persons with disabilities, elderly people, pregnant women and nursing mothers to enable them to vote without undue stress.
She also identified three assistive materials provided by the commission to facilitate voting for people with different disabilities.
These include Braille ballot guides for visually impaired voters, magnifying glasses for persons with albinism and pictorial posters to assist voters with hearing impairments.
The materials, she said, were designed to help the affected voters participate in elections with fewer difficulties.
The Ondo State Chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Mr Abiodun Samuel, commended INEC for its efforts to promote inclusive democracy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Samuel expressed satisfaction with the retention of priority voting arrangements for persons with disabilities and pledged the association’s support for the commission’s efforts to deepen democratic participation.
“We are happy with the level of preparedness INEC has put in place, especially the instructional materials needed by persons with disabilities to cast their votes during the election.
“We are also encouraged by the assurances that we will not be intimidated and that our votes will count during the election,” he said.
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The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the commission also engaged electoral officers and disability desk officers in Ondo State as part of preparations for the 2027 general elections.
