The Electoral Commission of Ghana in collaboration with the National Council on Persons with Disability, has held a one day training workshop on election observation for the disability community.
As part of its mandate to ensure that persons with disabilities enter and actively participate in meanstrean national activities, the National Council on Persons with Disability applied for accreditation status to enable persons with disabilities to be observers at the various polling stations in the coming elections. And as a requirement for the accreditation, the Electoral Commission organized the training for the participants, numbering over 100 from across the country, on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, at the Accra Rehabilitation Center.
The trainees were made up of the blind, the deaf, persons with autism, burnt survivors and persons with physical disabilities; the Governing Board of National Council on Persons with Disability, some staff of the National Council on Persons with Disability and members of Ghana Federation of Disability organizations
Mr Fred Tetteh, from the Electoral Commission took the participants through the various electoral processes and laws, as well as their responsibilities as election observers.
He assured them that the Electoral Commission has made special arrangement for Persons with Disabilities to ensure that they cast their vote without any hindrance. One of such arrangements is the provision of Ballot Paper Template (BPT) to aid the blind.
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The Executive Secretary of National Council on Persons with Disability, Lawyer Esther Akua Gyamfi, told the participants that the election observer status was to enable them exercise their rights as election observers in the forthcoming election. She advised the trainees to respect their status as election observers, exercising their civic right.
She also disclosed that there will be two additional trainings to be organised by the Council.
The National Council on Persons with Disability is the state agency mandated to coordinate disability matters in the country.
By Benjamin Nii-Lartey Ayiku // ghananewsonline.com.gh
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