At the recent Presidential Election, concerns over the accessibility of polling stations for elderly and disabled voters came to the forefront. With individuals with disabilities comprising 8.7% of the population as per the 2012 Census and Statistics report, ensuring their right to vote without obstacles is crucial for an inclusive democratic process.
However, insights from election monitoring organisations such as Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES), Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), and People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) reveal that certain polling stations remain difficult to access, particularly for voters with mobility challenges and visual impairments.
Election monitors’ observations
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, IRES Executive Director Manjula Gajanayake highlighted significant issues regarding voting accessibility for Sri Lanka’s disabled community.
“The country conducted its last national census in 2012. Usually, every 10-year period should have a national census, but unfortunately due to Covid and other issues, the Government did not consider conducting a national census. There should be a national census to know the exact figures. According to the 2012 census, there are more than 1.6 million people with disabilities – almost 16% of the population in Sri Lanka.”
Despite this, Gajanayake noted that many voters with disabilities faced challenges in accessing polling stations: “Some of these qualified voters are not voting due to certain reasons, which is a problem. I don’t think I am satisfied with how the Department of Social Services is serving persons with disabilities.”
The CMEV reported significant accessibility issues at polling centres for elderly voters and voters with disabilities during the recent elections. “It was not disability-friendly. Many voters were turned away when they could not climb the stairs,” noted CMEV Chief Operating Officer Prof. Arjuna Parakrama.
He emphasised that this was an important area that needed improvement: “Many of the polling centres are not equipped for individuals with mobility difficulties, which is a major weakness.” He expressed hope that by the next election, measures would be taken to address these shortcomings.
“Polling centres should not require individuals to climb stairs, as this poses significant challenges for those with mobility issues. Additionally, there are difficulties for voters with visual impairments; the current arrangements are quite inadequate.”
PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi added that there was still much to be done to address this issue. He acknowledged the efforts made by the Election Commission (EC) but emphasised that more needed to be done.
“This is one area we need to address in future elections, but I don’t think we can do it at the Parliamentary Elections. We need to appreciate and acknowledge that the EC is quite keen and trying to accommodate or rather facilitate as much as possible, because it has prepared certain polling stations based on that. Still, there are issues with polling stations.”
Giving a specific example, Hettiarachchi said: “In Nuwara Eliya, there was a factory where they used the second floor instead of the first floor. Voters had to climb to vote. Even for individuals without disabilities, this was challenging.”
EC initiatives
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, EC Chairperson R.M.A.L. Rathnayake stated: “We have already taken care of everything for them to easily cast their vote, but some persons with disabilities had difficulty accessing polling stations. Some problems arose in some polling stations. If we receive any information or complaints, we will take steps to solve that at the next election.”
The Election Commission has taken steps to improve voting access for voters with disabilities, with Gajanayake stating: “In 2016, the EC, with the support of local and international organisations, conducted an international conference in Colombo and signed the Colombo Declaration, which was signed by all election authorities in the South Asian region. Through the Colombo Declaration, they pledged to support the voting rights of persons with disabilities.”
However, many issues remain. “Even though there are half a million visually impaired people, half of them cannot use Braille paper. Even to read Braille, they have to go to Ratmalana School for the Blind,” Gajanayake explained. “To address this, the current and previous EC introduced tactile ballots; this time it has used it again with the support of PAFFREL and another organisation.”
He also pointed out that polling stations were often not located in accessible areas. “Most election officers are not establishing polling stations on the ground floor but usually on the first or second floor. In areas like Nawalapitiya or Nuwara Eliya, if buildings in mountainous regions are chosen as polling stations, it’s often because there are no other viable options. That’s why such locations are selected. In places like Nuwara Eliya and Matale, it’s particularly challenging to find flat land for these purposes.”
Hettiarachchi added: “The EC can’t make many changes because it has to use the existing Government buildings as polling stations.”
Addressing what was being done to solve this matter, Gajanayake said: “Right now the EC is working hard in this regard. At the next elections, it will put up some temporary polling stations. Some persons with disabilities can’t walk or use public transportation, therefore the EC will establish temporary polling stations closer to those people.”
Improvements needed for inclusivity
Prof. Parakrama highlighted: “For visually-impaired voters, this time they have used a small template, not exactly Braille.”
He also pointed out the need for the use of proper Braille signage for visually-impaired voters.
He also stressed that polling locations should be ground-floor accessible, as these adjustments did not necessarily require substantial financial investment.
Furthermore, Prof. Parakrama proposed solutions for increasing voter inclusivity: “We should have absentee voting options available, especially for those working abroad, including individuals in the Middle East.”
He highlighted the necessity of developing strategies to ensure that voting was more inclusive for various categories of voters. “For voting to be accessible, planning must take into account the needs of the elderly, disabled individuals, and people with precarious job situations where employers do not permit time off to vote.”
Need for better data and Govt. support
Emphasising the importance of accurate data in improving accessibility, Gajanayake stated: “The challenge in Sri Lanka is that we need precise data and statistics. For instance, if a person belongs to polling station X, it’s not necessary to provide all the facilities for that station. If you know there are five visually-impaired voters at polling station X, you only need to provide accommodations for them, rather than catering to all categories of voters at that location.
“If the Government can provide more funds, all these important things can be done. The Election Commission should have more money. Currently, these workshops are being conducted by NGOs and election observation missions. If the Treasury gives the EC more funding, it can do something. The EC is updating its strategic plan. Those facilitatory items are included in the plan. Part of that strategic plan asked for IRES backup recently and we will be providing support.”
Report to EC; study to be conducted
Hettiarachchi noted that PAFFREL would be submitting part of a report related to the accessibility of polling booths during this year’s Presidential Election to the Election Commission. “We are planning to prepare a report in the next two days and submit it to the EC in order to try to change some polling stations for upcoming elections. Otherwise, it will be difficult to address this issue across the country,” he explained.
He elaborated: “We have deployed around 3,000 stationary observers and we included one or two questions regarding accessibility in our observer reports. We are currently summarising these reports. Hopefully, we will be able to share that part of the report related to disabled voters with the EC by Monday or Tuesday.”
He also said that one year ago PAFFREL had conducted a sample study on six electoral divisions, and had already submitted those reports. “The reports identified the challenges at polling stations and proposed alternative polling places.”
According to Hettiarachchi, PAFFREL is planning to study 10 districts in order to identify accessibility challenges at existing polling stations and propose alternative stations. “Hopefully, we will start this year or next year. It will not affect the upcoming elections, but we are going to identify those 10 districts, the existing polling stations, and their difficulties and challenges.
“We are also suggesting alternative places because there is no point in just saying that a building is not accessible. We want to come up with proposals for future elections because most elections use the same polling stations, so this will be useful when assigning polling stations in the future. That’s our plan.”