Enabling Voters with Disability - Delhi’s Experience

Presentation before:

Hon’ble Election Commission of India

Context: Nomination for Special Award

December 29, 2015

Presented by: Vishva Mohan and Anil BholaOffice of Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi

The Target Group

• 2,34,882 Person with Disabilities in Delhi (2011 census)

• 60% of them can be estimated as voters – approx 1.40 lacs

• Their inclusion into voting may help formulation of public policy

favorable to PwDs

• Traditionally, ‘disability’ was seen as a reason for exclusion but

now ‘inadequate accommodation’ is considered the reason,

making electoral officers’ role very important.

• Senior citizens and sick persons (temporarily disabled) also need

accommodation to cast vote

Media/NGO feedback post - Delhi Assembly Elections, 2013 - bared the challenge for us

Much was needed to be done, to make polling station accessible to voters with disability – so that they come out and vote with dignity.

The problem areas identified – with stakeholder engagement – with a resolve to change

• Infrastructure– Non-availability of appropriate Ramps

– Steep slope/Unstable ramps without handrails – Fear of falling

– Obstacles for wheelchair from polling station gate to the voting compartment

– Lack of wheelchairs

– Lack of signage

• Training to polling staff– Sensitization needed of special needs of PwDs

– DOs and DONTs not known for different kinds of disability• Hearing impaired - how to explain them voting procedure

• Speaking impaired - Polling staff unable to understand them

• Visually disabled – how to assist them to cast vote

• Communication – How to convey to PwDs to avail the legal provisions and ECI’s special arrangements to facilitate them in casting vote.

The Solution MatrixQUALITY I

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Voters with Disability

Going beyond the conventional definition

• Besides the conventionally understood ‘voters with disability’, senior citizens, pregnant women, and voters with a temporary disability (fractured limb, etc) also need to be facilitated.

• This is important in context of voting - a non-mandatory activity.

• The facilities provided were publicized in advance, so that the voters with disability did not hesitate to come out and vote.

The specially made training film• A 21-minute video film was made with NGOs’ help – essential to train over

100,000 personnel, during a limited timeframe, with very few trainers. • The film depicts

– the correct ramps with handrails and appropriate slope; – volunteers correctly operating wheelchairs; – Polling staff assisting voters with visual, hearing and speaking disabilities –

with courtesy but equally ; – Polling staff extending preferential entry to PwDs without making them

wait in queue;– Polling staff allowing companion to blind/infirm voters under Rule 49N of

Conduct of Election Rules, 1961;– Special signage erected for entry, exit, toilets, parking etc.

• Besides the training sessions, the film could be viewed conveniently by polling staff on CEO office website.

DO’S and DONT’S booklet for polling personnel

• Provides details of what needs to be done by polling personnel to meet requirements for each of the major disability.

• Emphasizes the soft part of giving the voters with disability a preferential, courteous and respectful treatment.

• This is a coloured booklet, with many sketches/pictorials specially made, yet printed at very low cost as most of the work was carried out in-house in association with NGOs.

• A handy ready reckoner, it was included in Presiding Officer’s polling kit.

Institutional Mechanism created

• Nodal Officer of the Department of Disability Affairs (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, GOI) was appointed in each of the nine election district.

• Nodal Officer (Disability) of DEO was also appointed in each District and his name and phone number was notified in newspapers.

• Meeting was held at the level of CEO, Delhi with all Stake holders including District Election Officers, Government departments, NGOs, and Local bodies, spelling out role of all and facilitating further coordination.

• Audit teams comprising officers of Institute of Physically Handicapped (IPH)/ALIMCO and Sector Officers were deployed under coordination by Nodal officers to check that infrastructure at polling locations met the benchmark.

• Additional teams were deployed by CEO to ensure facilities.

Posters and Signage

• Four posters were specially made and displayed at the polling station – one each was pasted behind Polling Officers 1, 2 and 3, and one pasted in the voting compartment.

• These are coloured posters with message in simple words in both Hindi and English, and also pictorial.

• The posters are especially useful for voters with hearing disability, minimizing need of oral communication.

• Beneficial for first-time voters too.

• Posters and Signage, along with DOs and DONTs booklet were included in the presiding officer’s polling kit.

Information, Education, Communication (IEC)

• Wide publicity was given to the measures put in place for facilitating voters with disability as well as senior citizens and voters with temporary disabilities/debilitation through:

– CEO’s Press Conferences and briefings to media persons;

– Newspaper advertisements;

– SVEEP activities

• Registration facility was provided to the voters with disability at CEO Delhi website, during Lok Sabha Elections, 2015.

• For Assembly Elections, 2015 phone facility was provided for registration with concerned Nodal Officer.

Summary of Achievement/Work• Targeted training imparted to the entire polling staff during second

and third trainings – with specially prepared video film and power point.

• Professionals from GoI institutes and reputed NGOs partnered for training.

• The training sensitized and equipped the staff in a short time - to extend appropriate behavioural courtesy and assist the voters with different disabilities with available resources.

• Over 3,000 volunteers trained and deployed with May I Help You tags to assist voters with disabilities. These included 231 volunteers of NSS from JNU, Jamia Milia and Delhi University and over 2600 Multi Tasking Staff of GNCTD, besides the volunteers from specialised NGOs and Government organizations working for PwDs.

• Students of Institute of Physically Handicapped (IPH) gave practical training to volunteers in operating wheelchairs.

Summary of Achievement/Work contd…• All polling stations deployed disabled friendly physical infrastructure.

• Smallest details were emphasised: Height of table on which EVM is placed, no loose cables to obstruct wheelchair movement, adequate space between furniture to turn the wheelchair, careful barricading so as not to obstruct wheelchairs, etc.

• NGOs and government disability professionals teamed up with the election staff to audit the infrastructure ahead of poll day.

• 700 wheelchairs were deployed at polling locations with trained operators/volunteers to serve the orthopedically disabled, sick persons and senior citizens.

• Our endeavours made the elections more inclusive and provided replicable models – in terms of training, infra, as well as institutions.

• Successful outcome can also be gauged from the feedback of NGOs and media reports, who all praised the Election Commission for enabling voters with disability to happily cast their vote with dignity.

Turnaround from 2013

Thanks…