Zambia National Association For Persons with Disability (ZANAPD) has appealed to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for its mitigation measure that ensure that today’s voting process in user friendly for persons with disabilities.
ZANAPD Executive Director Constance Mwalipita says his organisation is pleased that its long-standing concerns to ensure that rights of persons with disabilities today have been addressed by the ECZ.
Ms Mwalipita in an interview said the main concern for her Association is to ensure that its members enjoy their rights of accessibility as they would cast their votes today.
” There are a number of challenges which most of the persons with disability face during general elections such as lining up in queues, inaccessible to the polling station among others which should not be the case, ” she said.
She added that ECZ should ensure that they lesson the burden of the persons with disability of standing in long queues by allowing them to freely pass through and cast their votes.
She has since urged the persons with disability to turn up in numbers today and cast their votes without being discouraged.
“ I also encourage persons who are visibly identified as physically challenged to carry their disability cards to show the people in charge so that they are exempted, “ she said.
The Electoral Commission has put in place measures such as separate queues for persons with disabilities as well as brail for visually impaired voters during today elections,
And Mental Health Reformed Movement ( MHRM) National Coordinator Kennedy Chanda has encouraged all rehabilitated mental health persons to cast their votes today.
Mr. Chanda says all rehabilitated mental health persons who are 18 and above and have the voters registration cards have also got the right to choose the leader of the nation.
“Everyone has the right to vote regardless of their status all the need to do is carry their certified medical documents”, he said
He has therefore urged persons with disabilities to choose leaders who will have the heart for all the people in the country regardless of their conditions.
Advice is a bit late?
The process has already started…I hope the ECZ will accommodate to their needs.
It is too late, we understand you are handicapped you act slow.