‘No provisions for voters with disabilities’

Sep 02, 2025 News

…OAS other stakeholders raise concerns

FGM candidate Holly-Anne Bristol being assisted on Monday in order to cast her ballot

Kaieteur News – On Monday, across polling stations in Georgetown, there were complaints of persons living with disabilities turning up at their designated polling stations to vote but encountering challenges due to systems not being in place to make them easily accessible.

During a briefing with media operatives, Chief of the Organization of American States/Electoral Observation Mission in Guyana, Bruce Golding, former Jamaican Prime Minister, noted that what the OAS team observed was that persons with disabilities were given priority. He explained that when persons living with disabilities turned up to vote, they did not have to stay in line and were allowed to go straight to the head of the line.

However, he noted that what he thinks caused a problem is that some polling stations were held on upper floors of buildings. “At some of the locations that we went where polling stations were on the upper floor, persons who were physically unable to climb stairs would have had to be lifted up, because there would not have been any other means for them to access the polling station. I think it’s important wherever possible, to avoid locating polling stations on an upper floor, if it is at all possible, keep those polling stations on the lower floor, because it is a real problem for disabled persons,” he said.

Notably, Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) candidate Holly-Anne Bristol on Monday encountered issues when she turned up at her polling station to vote. FGM had complained that proper measures were not in place to facilitate voting for persons living with disabilities. Subsequently, Bristol had to return home to switch from her electric wheelchair to a manual one so she could be lifted up the stairs at the Church of the Transfiguration on Mandela Avenue to vote.

At a news conference after polls were closed, Guyana Elections Commission Public Relations Officer (PRO) Yolanda Ward apologised for the inconvenience. Ward said the Commission continues to receive recommendations in this regard, but noted that it may require legislation. “It’s quite unfortunate that the training that our staff were given is probably not adhered to at those specific polling stations, because, on the other hand, I’ve seen images even witnessed at some polling stations today, presiding officers facilitating persons with disabilities. I don’t know if those issues were resolved…,” she said.

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American States, Bruce, Georgetown, Guyana, Holly-Anne Bristol, Mandela Avenue

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