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Inclusion of the Visually Impaired Persons in the Electoral Process in Zambia: A Human Rights Approach
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the electoral process and the visually impaired so as to
determine their inclusion in the electoral process. The objectives were
to, establish
the electoral needs
of people with visual impairment in Zambia, to determ
ine how people with visual impairment have
been embraced in the electoral process, to examine the barriers that have contributed to the non
-
participation of people with visual impairment in the electoral process and finally to ascertain how the
electoral p
rocess can be made more inclusive for individuals with visual impairment.
The study
employed a phenomenological research design. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used
to collect and analyse data. A purposive sampling technique was employed. The key informants were
officials from the ECZ, the Zambia Agency for perso
ns with disabilities and selected individuals with
visual
impairments, Jesuit center for theological reflections official, selected students with visual
impairments at Kwame Nkrumah University and selected lectures and individuals with visual
impairments i
n kabwe District of Zambia. Data was collected through
Questionnaires
, interviews and
focus group discussions and observation.
The findings
from this study revealed that d
espite the fact
that the legal framework in Zambia provides for the conduct of electi
ons by means of a secret ballot,
the practice has been that the visually impaired voters are subjected to the assistance of a third party
that is required to mark the ballot paper on their behalf, despite the braille jack
et which was
used in
the 2016 elect
ions by
some
visually impaired
persons
by slotting in a ballot paper and be able to
identify a candidate of their choice, by
no means was that
used by the visually impaired who are
illiterate because braille is as good as reading and writing of which the
uneducated visually impaired
will still need assistance to
vote, hence the study further revealed
that, the
visually impaired ,both total
and partially blind
need braille jackets across the
country, large
font ballot paper and most of all
effi
ci
ent and eff
ective sensitation
at all levels of the electoral process
in all local languages
.
The study
recommends that a law that restricts fundamental human rights must be shown to be reasonably
justified in a democratic society and
must be cross
-
cutting
also
and no
t
be discriminatory in its effect
or application. In this regard, there is need to adopt alternative voting and participation mechanisms
that will allow
both partially and totally
visually impaired
voters to vote independently and exercise
the right to a
secret ballot and fully participa
te at
all levels of
the electoral process.
These
uncertainties, therefore, call for an extensive sensitisation on the part of the organisations directly
dealing with the disabled persons and stakeholders regarding the purp
ose and importance of
participation in the electoral process hence enhancing the visually impaired persons’s inclusion in the
entire electoral process in Zambia. // Paper ID 10
Subject
Country
Zambia
Region
Africa
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Date
2019-09
Author
ORCID
Corporate Author
Editor
Publisher
Commonwealth of Learning (COL)