A day’s sensitisation workshop has been organised for visually impaired persons within the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region.
Under the auspices of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana, the workshop was meant to school the visually impaired persons on how they would be able to vote independently on election day.
In his opening remarks to the participants, the Municipal Officer of the Commission, Mr Kingsley Owusu-Ansah, stated that the EC was mandated to educate the public on electoral procedures.
He added that the Commission was committed to ensuring that visually impaired persons would be able to cast their ballots in secrecy for any candidate of their choice.
The secrecy of the ballot, according to him, was crucial, adding that there was also the need for the individual choices and preferences to be respected at the ballot box.
In view of this, he said, there was the need for such a training programme to properly sensitise the participants on the use of the Tactile Jacket.
The Tactile Jacket is a simple device that enables visually impaired persons to independently cast their votes during elections without any interference or assistance.
He said: “We don’t intend to leave anybody out, so you should take the training seriously to be able to cast your vote in secrecy.”
He further gave the assurance that the Tactile Jackets would be made available at centres where visually impaired persons would cast their votes on election day.
Mr Sylvester Omane Annan, Mfantseman Municipal President of the Ghana Blind Union, noted that the use of the Tactile Jacket was the surest means of ensuring secrecy at the ballot box.
According to him, there were instances where visually impaired persons had a lot of challenges during voting, adding that it was high time those concerns were addressed.
He explained that the use of the Tactile Jacket was the panacea to their challenges at the ballot box, and, therefore, charged the participants to focus on the training for their own good.
About 30 visually impaired persons attended the sensitisation workshop.
The post Mfantseman: EC schools visually impaired persons on voting appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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