PWDs face uphill battle with voter registration at EC district offices

The Federation of Persons with Disability Organizations (GFD) in the Upper West Region has raised concerns about the Electoral Commission making its district offices the places for the limited voter registration exercise for the 2024 general election.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has scheduled to commence the voter registration exercise on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. The exercise will run until Monday, May 27, 2024, ahead of the December 7th general election.

The registration exercise is aimed at all eligible voters who have turned 18 years old since the last registration to be enrolled on the voters' register.

The EC has indicated that the exercise will be conducted at its district offices across the country and in hard-to-reach areas.

They said that the move by the EC would disenfranchise many persons with disabilities in the region. 

Mr Ibrahim Saani, the Immediate past Upper West Regional President of the Federation of Persons with Disability, raised the concern in an interview with Info Radio.

He explained that even though the exercise is very important, it would be difficult for many persons with disabilities in the region to commute to the various EC district offices in the region to register considering their locations.

“The EC’s office in the Wa Municipality is located far away on the Nakori road. It would be very difficult for us to use the wheelchair to that place and that is problematic. Many years ago the limited registration exercise was done at the various polling stations and it was okay for persons with disabilities.”

Mr. Saani appealed to the EC to reconsider its decision and extend the registration centers to the polling stations if it wanted all eligible Ghanaians, including the PWDs, to register and vote in the election.

Mr. Freeman Kanton, the Executive Director of the Centre for Advancing Rural Opportunities (CARO), appealed to the persons with Disabilities to endeavor to register to participate in the exercise despite the challenge.

He said CARO’s “concern about this limited voter registration process is on the mobilization of minority groups, women and persons with disabilities and their participation in the process.”

Mr. Kanton noted that it is only through registration that would guarantee PWDs and these minority groups the right to vote and choose who leads them.