CED Urges ECP To Ensure Inclusive Elections

News Desk

Islamabad: The Coalition for Elections and Democracy (CED) has called on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take urgent action to ensure that the upcoming 2023 general elections and local government elections in the federal capital and provinces are fully accessible to all voters, including those with disabilities, elderly individuals and those with health issues.

In a letter written to the Chief Election Commissioner, Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) Executive Director Mukhtar Ahmed Ali, and National Coordinator of CED noted that it is crucial that all voters, including PWDs, are able to participate in the electoral process on an equal and dignified basis. It also made several recommendations to the ECP demanding to make the electoral process more inclusive for all voters.

The ECP has made efforts to make polling stations more accessible and established a Gender and Disability Electoral Working Group; however, the CED has highlighted that it is likely that many PWDs would still face significant attitudinal and physical barriers to casting their votes. One of the recommendations is to develop and publish the Draft Polling Scheme for the 2023 General Election as soon as possible, allowing enough time for objections and complaints to be raised and addressed.

This would provide political parties, candidates, civil society, and voters with the opportunity to raise any objections, including from an accessibility standpoint, and allow the ECP to address any reasonable and legitimate complaints. Moreover, it suggested that the ECP conduct an accessibility audit of potential polling stations, preferably through a development partner, to provide authentic information on the barriers faced by PWDs and other marginalized groups. This would help the ECP to better understand the problem and take timely remedial measures.

Furthermore, the ECP must strengthen its coordination with district authorities, including the education department and the concerned local governments, to ensure that all polling stations in the future will be located on ground floors and will be accessible through ramps. In this regard, the ECP may convene meetings of relevant officials, including the chief secretaries, finance secretaries and education secretaries of the provinces, to discuss the urgent need for accessible polling stations and impress upon them the need to take pertinent measures.

ECP must also issue directions to relevant authorities to review building codes from an accessibility perspective and ensure compliance with accessibility requirements, including those prescribed through the Accessibility Code of Pakistan, 2006. CED requests that the ECP take swift action to consider these recommendations and ensure that all citizens have a fair and equal opportunity to have their voices heard. CED is a civil society coalition working to strengthen democratic and electoral processes in Pakistan.