Voters with disabilities face access problems at polling stations, study

14.08.2019 12:09
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Out of 612 public buildings where polling stations are organized only 6 are accessible to people with disabilities, 174 are partially accessible and 432 are inaccessible. Results are included in "Equal access for all to the polling stations" study, conducted by the Central Election Commission and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), IPN reports.

"Around 170,000 people with disabilities with the right to vote could vote just like the others, at the polling stations and not at home. The issue that these people are facing is the access to polling stations”, Dorin Cimil, the chairman of the Central Election Commission said at the presentation of the study.

Dorin Cimil also says, starting August 14, "Equal access for all to polling stations" campaign will start. The one month-campaign has the purpose to make the decision makers and the population aware of the fact that equal access to polling stations must be guaranteed for all.

Andrea Cuzyova, UNDP Moldova deputy resident representative, said that "some categories of citizens, especially people with disabilities, face a number obstacles when they have to freely exercise their right to vote". Andrea Cuzyova expressed her conviction that the results and recommendations of the study would arouse the interest of decision makers and that they would act so as to ensure the access of people with disabilities to polling stations. The authors of the study recommend to the Central Public Authorities to strengthen the efforts for the implementation of the National Program for social inclusion of persons with disabilities and to set up a national / district accessibility fund.

Local Public Authorities are advised to install mobile ramps in institutions where entrances are not adapted or are inaccessible and to pay special attention to the implementation of "reasonable adaptation" concept for the existing buildings.

The "Equal access for all to the polling stations" study is part of the "Strengthening democracy in Moldova through inclusive and transparent elections" program implemented by UNDP Moldova with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development, and the British Embassy in Chisinau.