Sequel to the recently concluded governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, the Albino Foundation Africa has expressed dissatisfaction with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s for failure to provide sufficient assistive devices for Persons With Disability (PWDs) during the voting process on Saturday 18th March 2023.

In a post-election report signed by the Foundation’s Executive Director, Jakes Ekpelle, the electoral commission promised PWDs across the country utmost priority at polling units for a seamless voting experience but failed to keep to its promises during the polls.

However, based on multiple reports from the three hundred and forty (340) trained observers deployed to the twenty-eight governorship elections, the Albino Foundation accused the electoral umpires of frustrating PWD participation in the electoral process by failing to conduct transparent elections.

The reports further indicated that the gubernatorial elections were generally marred by lack of inclusivity and transparency by the stakeholders who played diverse roles in the conduct of the elections, stating that the predominant electoral violence and intimidation are undermining the progress of democracy in the country.

The report partly reads: “TAF Africa had expected that the provision of the electoral act mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission to provide assistive tools for persons with disabilities (PWDs) at the polling unit with registered PWDs will be sufficiently implemented. Unfortunately, this obligation was treated with laxity in most polling units with registered persons with disabilities, thereby frustrating their participation in the electoral process.

“Again, the Independent National Electoral Commission missed another opportunity to present itself as a truly inclusive institution by going back on its commitment to ensuring hitch-free participation in the electoral process by the community of persons with disabilities.

Addressing INEC’s performance on the deployment of the needed devices for the persons with disabilities, the foundation noted “the inadequate deployment of assistive tools at the polling units. From the observed polling units, 36% had braille ballot guides for the visually impaired, 24% had magnifying glasses for persons with Albinism and 67% had large font graphic posters for the deaf. It is noteworthy that TAF Africa’s findings are based on reports from three hundred and thirty-one (331) sampled polling units and analyzed in the persons with disabilities election hub.”

The foundation, however, observed the early arrival of INEC officials to the polling units stating that “ out of the polling units observed, eighty-seven per cent (87%) of them recorded early arrival of INEC officials and 67% of early voting commencement. On accessibility, TAF Africa observers reported the accessibility of the polling units at 96% of the polling units observed, while priority voting was observed in 77% of the polling units.”

The foundation also condemned electoral violence in some parts of the country and attacks on journalists who were on duty to cover the elections in different parts of the country. The report further called for the investigation of thuggery and voters intimidations that impeded the electorates from performing their franchise duties

“We wish to state emphatically that such incidents, whatever the motivation, are highly condemnable, unjustifiable, and indeed a dent in the sanctity of the principle of media freedom. We hereby call on the Inspector-General of Police to carry out investigations and ensure that the perpetrators of these wicked acts are brought to book”.

In its recommendation, the foundation urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to scrutinise the fallouts while conducting the elections and find improvements. The report also encouraged the security to investigate the electoral violence and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“INEC should conduct a thorough scrutiny of polling units where elections did not take place to establish the reasons for the failure, knowing that public confidence partly depends on it. INEC should communicate with the public on polling units across the country where the election did not hold and ensure the process is concluded in those locations before returns are made.

“Security agencies should properly investigate polling units that experienced political violence and thuggery and make sure that justice is served by bringing perpetrators to face the consequences of their acts. A proper audit of the distribution of assistive devices should be carried out to ascertain what the cause and gaps were that led to the poor availability of assistive devices to identify polling units with persons with disabilities.