An Accessibility Audit and Observation Study conducted by the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) has found that persons with disabilities were significantly hampered from participating in this year’s Local Government Elections.

The audit and study was completed with support from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and USAID

The Programme Manager for the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities, Ganesh Singh, explained that the study found that only 12.3% of the more than 550 polling stations used across Guyana had ramps in place to assist the disabled.

“So, we found that 55.9% of polling stations had steps and only 12.3% of the polling stations had ramps…The majority – 87.1% – of the polling stations were actually on the ground floor, however, only 1.4% had elevators or lift and these are the ones on the upper floor,” Singh detailed.

Additionally, the audit found that just over half (51.7%) of the polling stations had obstacle-free access to voting booths. However, they all lacked critical guides for persons with visual impairment, according to the report.

“Persons with visual impairments were unable to vote independently and this we know is a subject that we have been trying to address for a number of years. There were no tactile ballots and marking guides, and these are the guides you put over the ballot paper…those were absent, and so persons who are blind and severely visually impaired were unable to vote independently,” Singh explained.

It was also found that less than half of the polling stations – 43.5% – provided written information for voters with auditory disabilities.

Additionally, the report disclosed that while 78.5% of the polling stations had ballot marking tables positioned low enough for all voters to access, only 46 of them provided adequate space at the voting booth for persons with wheelchairs or walkers.

 Additionally, only 22.2% of the polling stations had washroom facilities accessible for persons with disabilities, while only 30% had sufficient seating accommodation for persons with disabilities and the elderly.

Giving the alarming findings, the organisation said the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) needs to do more to ensure that there is greater access to polling stations for persons with disabilities.

“Polling stations and registration centres, so, these should be on the ground floor with barrier free access. So, basically, they should have ramps, no stairs but if they have stairs at least they should have ramps for physical access for someone with disability. If it is not on the ground floor, it must have adequate features to accommodate someone using a wheelchair including lifts or even an elevator,” Singh said.

Singh is also calling for the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2010 to be amended to ensure that persons with disabilities are able to vote independently and in-secret.

The Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities has also recommended additional training for election day staff. It also wants to see persons with disabilities being included among those hired by the Elections Commission to conduct electoral duties throughout the election cycle.

(Svetlana Marshall)

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