Experts of the Moldova Institute for Human Rights (IDOM), who monitored the ensuring of the right to vote of persons with disabilities at the February 24 parliamentary elections, recommend that the responsible institutions should strengthen the national mechanisms for ensuring the disabled persons’ access to the electoral process. The experts consider a mechanism should be instituted to approve and validate the places intended for voting and to determine if these meet the accessibility conditions or not.

Representatives of the IDOM observed the voting process at nine temporary placement centers for persons with disabilities and psychiatric hospitals. In a news conference at IPN, coordinator of the IDOM monitoring and reporting program Dumitru Russu, referring to shortcomings witnessed in the electoral process, said some of the polling places didn’t ensure access to polling stations. In particular, the buildings lacked ramps or these didn’t meet the construction norms if they existed.

“We saw that the ramps do not have the required angle and some of the polling places do not have ramps, but only stairs and this makes the entry of persons with locomotor disabilities impossible. There are also too high stairs that cannot be mounted without someone’s assistance,” stated Dumitru Russu.

The expert noted authorities’ efforts should be aimed at outfitting the polling stations with means for assisting persons with visual impairments, such as magnifying glasses, lamps and Braille language so that the persons could identify the candidate they want to vote without the assistance of other people.

The observers also noticed a hostile environment that is sometimes created both by voters and by polling station workers, who do not know how the persons with special needs should vote.

“We inherited a system that should be adjusted to the international and European standards in the field. The directors of institutions are ready to improve the infrastructure and the right to vote,” said Radu Bobeică, coordinator of the election monitoring at psychiatrist hospitals and temporary placement centers for persons with disabilities.

At the February 24 parliamentary elections, IDOM has 30 observers. In the institutions monitored on the election day, 1,131 persons of the total of 3,104 voted in elections. The experts said the low participation rate is not necessarily related to the voting conditions, but rather to the unwillingness to vote.