Latest update November 29th, 2024 1:00 AM
Limited provisions made for wheelchair users at polling stations
“It is a lesson we can learn from” – GECOM
Ovid Hendricks awaiting a decision on how he will be able to vote at New Campbellville Secondary.
Wheelchair users showed up to exercise their right to vote in yesterday’s Local Government Elections (LGE), but in many cases found limited provisions in place to allow them easy access to the polling stations.
When Gerald Browne arrived on his locally-made wheelchair at Tucville Secondary School in Georgetown to vote, he immediately inquired about the whereabouts of a ramp. There was none. He recalled that in 2015, there were ramps available. Luckily, for Browne his polling station was on the ground floor.
With the help of citizens, including a Kaieteur News reporter, he was able to enter the polling station and cast his vote.
Over at the New Campbellville Secondary School, Ovid Hendricks, who was using a motorised wheelchair, was not so lucky. His polling station was on the second floor of the building. He told Kaieteur News that at the 2015 polls, persons decided to lift him up the stairs. During the process, one man lost his balance and nearly slipped down the steps.
“I thought by now they would have fixed this. They need to make provisions for this,” an agitated Hendricks said.
Officials from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) appeared stunned as they tried to keep Hendricks calm. Each offered a different solution; including finding men to lift him up the stairs. Eventually, about an hour after he arrived, the Presiding Officer took the decision to have Hendricks vote downstairs.
“That’s a rather unfortunate scenario,” said GECOM’s Public Relations Officer, Yolanda Ward.
“For us at GECOM, we do not take that lightly. It is important for us to be able to have a very inclusive process. For persons not being able to access polling stations, it is a rather unfortunate situation. It is a lesson that can be learnt for future planning arrangements,” Ward noted.
She stated that for the purpose of LGE, elections are to be held within a constituency where the person resides. Ward stated that GECOM has found it difficult in a lot of Local Authority Areas to find buildings that can accommodate polling stations.
“We had to utilise a number of private residences, shops and so on, because it has to be held within a constituency as close to the persons as possible. And that happening might not be the best accessible point for someone with a disability,” Ward stated.
Chairperson of the National Commission on Disability, Evelyn Hamilton, said they plan to investigate incidents where persons using wheelchairs had issues accessing polling stations. Hamilton stated that unlike the May 2015 General Elections when the Commission was pro-active in meeting with GECOM, the Commission did not engage GECOM ahead of yesterday’s LGE.
“Some of the measures taken for the 2015 polls were a direct result of those meetings. One assumed that things would go smoothly. We did not think that we needed to have more meetings to underscore the need to cater for persons using wheelchairs. We had even presented a proposal which would have allowed the visually impaired to vote without assistance. We plan to revisit these things before 2020 elections,” Hamilton stated.
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