Election Commission of Maldives (ECM) has revealed that 60 individuals have been registered in the visually impaired registry. These individuals will be afforded the opportunity to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Speaking on a programme aired on PSM News, Vice President of ECM Ismail Habeeb underscored that a significant portion of visually impaired people, as per records from National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) and other administrative bodies, are eligible to vote. He highlighted the distribution of voting templates across the Maldives for the 2023 presidential elections, specifically designed to accommodate those with visual limitations.
Despite the substantial costs incurred, Habeeb pointed out that only a small fraction of the blind population participated in the previous elections. He mentioned the establishment of this registry resulted from discussions with relevant authorities, aiming to facilitate greater voting accessibility for visually impaired individuals.
Notably, visually impaired individuals have consistently reported challenges in exercising their voting rights independently. However, they were able to vote independently during the previous year's presidential elections, following amendments made to the Election General Act.
Habeeb also announced that voting templates for the visually impaired were dispatched to all polling stations, featuring raised edges on the paper to assist in identifying candidates' names and numbers. It was reported that 45 visually impaired people utilised these templates to cast their votes during presidential election 2023.