People with disabilities demand inclusiveness in elections
Botswana Council for the Disabled (BCD) is worried about challenges that prevent their members from participating in general elections.
BCD Executive Director, Moffat Louis told The Midweek Sun that there are people with severe disabilities and people with mild disability. According to Louis, the challenges differ with the severity of the disability.
"For instance, just for voter registration, there are people with disabilities who can independently go and register for elections and there are people who will need some support to go and reach the registration locations and that support comes from family members, community and friends. Where there is no support system, one may fail to register because there was no one available to assist them," Louis said, adding that one cannot take away disability from poverty, social and economic challenges.
To compound matters, many people living with disabilities are not employed, he said. They experience a lot of economic challenges and may need some kind of assistance to get to any place. Louis, who heads the organisation that was established in 1980 noted however that it is good that most IEC polling stations are within the locality, but those who cannot walk still need help in the form of cars or wheelchairs to reach polling stations.
He added that few people with disabilities have been taught about the importance of elections.
“For people living with disability to be registered to vote, they need to know why they are voting. So, at times they do not have the motivation to register and vote because they do not see the reason to,” Louis said.
He urges political parties to consider people with disabilities as they play their critical role of mobilising people and teaching them about their civil rights and democracy through their election manifestos.
Louis added that as political leaders do political campaigns, they should take time to explain and elaborate in detail to the people with disability why they have to vote and the importance of democracy.
“As the Council for the Disabled, we want to see people with disabilities in local government and as Members of Parliament or even as specially elected members,” he said, adding that disability is not a qualification because there are person’s with disability who are professionals like lawyers and accountants, among others.
“We are not saying select a person just because he or she has a disability, but look for a person who can come with knowledge and expertise where it is needed,” Louis said.
Meanwhile, 49-year-old Lorato Mitchell, a person with disability from Tlokweng, says she understands the significance of elections. She told The Midweek Sun that she has Avascular Necrosis disease, which was caused by a car accident she was involved in while living with her husband in the United States of America.
“My life ended when I was hit by a car in 2019. The Police in the USA never arrested the culprit. Shortly after that my health deteriorated and I was sent back home so that I am nearer my mother’s family,” Mitchell said, adding that she was not welcomed back home and does not receive any assistance from her family.
Mitchell has registered to vote in Tlokweng. Her hope is that her vote will make a difference in her situation in terms of service delivery, because as of today, she is still on the waiting list for a hip replacement surgery.
A Francistown woman, Tlotlo Majoo who is blind, says she registered for elections last week but she was just doing it as an obligation, as people with disabilities never benefit from taking part in general elections.
Majoo, who was born blind says she has always excelled in her studies since primary school level and is now studying Diploma in Human Resource Management at Botswana Open University.
She acknowledged the fact that while many people face challenges of life people with disabilities are worse off. Majoo adds that currently people with disability are not well represented in political positions.
Politicians only think of people with disabilities when approaching elections, she shares. “Since the 2019 general elections I have never been approached by any MP or councillor but they are only coming out now for us to vote for them for the 2024 general elections,” she said.
She proposes that government should consider introducing digital platforms for people living with disabilities to enable easy registering and voting.
IEC Chief Public Relations Officer, Osupile Maroba said there are people with disabilities who are not affected by the registration process, while some are obviously affected by the process especially those who are visually impaired. He said the visually impaired are covered and recognised by the law.
"In case the voter is affected by blindness, we expect them to be brought by their caretakers and we shall upon arrival assist them while their caretakers confirm if indeed we have marked their party of choice in general elections, as well during the voter registration. The law provides that the Presiding Officers must assist them accordingly," Maroba said.
He confirmed to The Midweek Sun that they have Ballot paper in Braille and other voter material for the blind to use. Maroba said the IEC have since improved as they will have a form that registers the number of people with disability during 2024 elections, hence they will be able to tell how many of them have registered this year unlike before when there was no such a provision.
Section 54 (g) of Electoral Act provides for assistance to people with disabilities and explicitly stipulates how they should be assisted to cast their votes if their disability compromises their participation.