Hohoe (V/R), Nov 24, GNA – Mr Enoch Danso Agyekum, the Hohoe Municipal Electoral Officer, says the Commission would give Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) preferences on election day.
He said the move would allow PWDs to vote without any hindrance, adding that the polling stations in the Hohoe Constituency were disability-friendly.
Mr Agyekum was speaking at a workshop on tactile training for visually impaired voters for the 2020 general elections in Hohoe.
He noted that the Municipality was one of the six beneficiary Districts selected for the training in the Volta region to enable the visually impaired voters to cast their ballots on their own.
He said electoral materials for the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections were received and placed in the armoury of the Ghana Police Service.
The Officer said a total of 59,669 eligible voters would cast their ballots in the election with 441 being special voters from the media, security agencies and the Electoral Commission (EC).
Mr Agyekum noted that there would be two tactile ballot jackets at every polling station in the Constituency for the presidential and the parliamentary elections.
He appealed to the participants to obey all electoral laws to avoid trouble.
Mr Augustine Yaw Asangba, President, Ghana Blind Union, (GBU) Hohoe, noted that it was important to train the visually impaired to vote independently on election day.
Mr Elolo Kofi Agyei, Volta Regional President, Ghana Federation of Disability Organisation (GFD), urged the EC to engage other groups under the Federation.
He called on members to fully participate in the programme to ensure a significant drop in rejected ballots.
Mr Ernest Amedior, the Hohoe Municipal Director of National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), noted that the Constitution made provisions for the physically challenged.
He tasked them to fully abide by the law when they turned up at their respective polling stations to vote.
Mr Henry Yanpalleh, Municipal Social Welfare Officer, said the engagement aimed at promoting social inclusion in every aspect of development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He said a total of 400 PWDs had received help from the Department and the Assembly since 2018.
GNA