The Election Commission of India (ECI), for the first time in a Lok Sabha Election, has provided the facility of home voting for the elderly and Persons with Disabilities.
The CEC of India has urged people to vote in large numbers. The first phase of the elections has begun today.
Voters above 85 years of age and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) with 40 per cent benchmark disability can avail the optional home voting facility.
There are over 81 lakh 85+ aged voters and 90 lakh + PwD voters registered across the country. “We have issued great guidelines to political parties to be very sensitive while talking about people with disabilities…they are more capable than most of us. It’s a question of just giving them those opportunities,” CEC Kumar added.
He also talked of ease of voting in Manipur which has seen ethnic violence. “We have made a special scheme for voting in the camps. There are more than 18,000 people who have already registered with us to vote from the camps.
Our teams will take their vote wherever they are.
Our attempt was and is that nobody is disfranchised, everybody is given a chance to vote.
So we have done something, and I’ am sure people will vote and establish the point that it’s the ballot that gives the answers,” he said.
