By Abubakar Mohammed, Gombe<\/p>\n
Less than 70 days to January 16,2027 presidential election,the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pledged to remove barriers preventing persons with disabilities (PWDs) from participating fully in the elections.<\/p>\n
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Gombe State, Alhaji Umar Gajiram, gave the assurance at a sensitisation workshop on disability inclusion, accessibility and the effective deployment of electoral interventions for PWDs.<\/p>\n
Gajiram said the commission was strengthening measures to address physical, communication, information and procedural barriers that hinder persons with disabilities from participating in elections as voters, candidates and election officials.<\/p>\n
He said the initiative was aimed at ensuring that eligible voters with disabilities could exercise their civic rights without discrimination or unnecessary difficulties.<\/p>\n
The workshop brought together INEC officials, representatives of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), disability organisations and other stakeholders to discuss strategies for improving electoral access and inclusion.<\/p>\n
Among the interventions highlighted by the commission were Braille ballot guides for visually impaired voters, EC30 written instruction posters for deaf voters and magnifying glasses for persons with visual impairment and albinism.<\/p>\n
INEC also identified voter education materials in Braille, jingles, flyers and posters as part of its efforts to ensure that electoral information reached persons with disabilities in accessible formats.<\/p>\n
The commission said the measures were supported by Section 54 of the Electoral Act 2026, the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and its framework on access and participation in the electoral process.<\/p>\n
It urged electoral officers and disability organisations to strengthen collaboration to ensure that the materials reached their intended beneficiaries and were effectively deployed during elections.<\/p>\n
Also speaking, INEC’s Administrative Secretary, Fadimatu Aliyu Bakare, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to ensuring that persons with disabilities enjoyed equal opportunities to exercise their voting rights.<\/p>\n
Bakare said the commission had a dedicated department responsible for voter education and publicity, including providing persons with disabilities with relevant information about the electoral process.<\/p>\n
She urged eligible voters with disabilities to participate in the forthcoming elections, assuring them that they would receive the necessary support and consideration.<\/p>\n
Some participants commended INEC for the initiative but stressed the need for effective implementation to translate the measures into tangible improvements at polling units.<\/p>\n
A physically challenged participant, Auwal Babangida, said persons with disabilities often faced discrimination and difficulties accessing polling units during elections.<\/p>\n
He appealed to members of the public to show consideration for PWDs and allow them to exercise their civic rights without intimidation or avoidable obstacles.<\/p>\n
Babangida said the success of the initiative would depend largely on the commitment of electoral officials and members of the public to implementing the measures.<\/p>\n
INEC urged stakeholders to sustain their collaboration ahead of the 2027 general elections to ensure that no eligible voter was denied the opportunity to participate because of disability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Abubakar Mohammed, Gombe Less than 70 days to January 16,2027 presidential election,the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pledged to remove barriers preventing persons with disabilities (PWDs) from participating fully in the elections. The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Gombe State, Alhaji Umar Gajiram, gave the assurance at a sensitisation workshop on disability inclusion, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19350,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19349\/revisions\/19350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}