Ensure facilities for all disabled persons, state panel tells SEC

Panaji: On a day TOI front-paged a report on how the state election commission (SEC) said there’s no postal ballot facility for those over 80 and those with disabilities, the Goa state commissioner for persons with disabilities on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the issue ahead of the panchayat elections.

The commissioner directed the SEC to “ensure accessible electoral facilitations” to all persons with disabilities with dignity, in line with the statutes and procedures followed by the Election Commission, as well as to adhere to the national legal mandates on accessible elections as provided by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the UN convention on rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD).

“It was known for five years that the panchayat elections were to take place,” commissioner Guruprasad Pawaskar told TOI. “In addition to this, all the data for persons with disability and 80+ population was already collected for the assembly elections a few months ago. Their houses were already identified, and they wouldn’t have had to put in extra effort for this election.”

The SEC’s reply had stated that “the provision of braille ballot papers and postal ballot voting for elderly citizens above 80 years of age and bed ridden is not mentioned in the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994”.

The secretary was replying to a request by Vishant Nagvekar seeking postal ballot facility, which was initiated... during the assembly election recently, allowing those above 80, those bed-ridden and persons with benchmark disabilities to vote from home.

The commissioner stated that the reply of the SEC secretary is “not acceptable to this court as it is in violation of Section 11 read with Section 3 of the Rights of Persons with disabilities Act, 2016, and Article 29 of the United Nations' CRPD, 2007”.

“It is pertinent to note that the recent Goa general assembly elections, 2022, were accessible to persons with disabilities as per Section 11 read with Section 3 of the RPwD Act, 2016. This approach of the chief electoral office of Goa was much appreciated by society at large, and created a benchmark towards inclusive election,” Pawaskar stated in the order.

“Further, it was but obvious that the Goa state election commission should have followed the same procedures as followed during the Goa general assembly elections, 2022, in order to make the Goa general panchayat elections 2022 completely inclusive and accessible for persons with disabilities,” Pawaskar added in the order.

Several persons with benchmark disabilities and bedridden persons are disappointed at not having the same facilities extended to them for the panchayat elections.

“There are 21 disabilities and accessibility should be for all these disabilities. Therefore, when accessibility facilities are done, they should cover all disabilities,” Nagvekar told TOI.


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