Election officials pledge support after accessibility concerns raised

With just under two weeks to go before voters head to the polls, disability advocates have voiced concerns that some voters may face barriers on election day, prompting the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to promise that polling stations will be accessible and that “reasonable accommodation” will be made for all.

Patricia Padmore Blackman, president of the Barbados Council for the Disabled, outlined some of the key issues affecting persons with disabilities.

“In terms of blind persons, I know that some of my colleagues have been unsure how they will be assisted, so there’s that lack of trust,” she said.

“They’re not sure if somebody else can be trusted to vote on their behalf, even though it’s in their presence. You have to exercise that mark of trust in another person in case they do not have an immediate family member to assist.”

Internally, the organisation has made efforts to create temporary solutions for blind voters in St Michael South, she said.

“I would say we started to mobilise on-the-ground information that would have been relevant to the organisers, so that they would know what the requirements were for a person with a disability. At the moment, our office at the Garrison is accessible. It was used last time, and they are likely to use it again.”

Addressing accessibility for wheelchair users, Padmore Blackman cited last year’s St James North by-election as a test run.

“Some persons found that the access was amenable to their requirements. The assistance was there. One of the other things we checked was the accessibility of the other polling stations.”

She acknowledged that the accessibility of all polling stations remains uncertain.

“I really cannot say that we have been able to ascertain the accessibility of all the polling stations because that would have been a mammoth task, and we haven’t received assistance with that… now there’s no time.”

Padmore Blackman also noted that early attempts to discuss independent voting with the EBC were unsuccessful.

All voting stations will be wheelchair accessible,” EBC chairman Ramon Alleyne told Barbados TODAY. “Disabled persons will be fast-tracked as reasonably as possible.”

The EBC has initiated communication with the Council for the Disabled: “We are also in discussion with the Most Honourable Kerryann Ifill, vice president of the Barbados Council for the Disabled, as to what further reasonable facilitation the commission can provide for the upcoming election.” (LG)