Much of the preparations for the 2025 General and Regional Elections were conducted with persons living with disabilities in mind but the electoral process, as it unfolded on September 1, still had shortcomings.On Wednesday, the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) released its Elections Accessibility Audit and Observation Report.The audit highlights both progress and significant gaps in the accessibility of polling stations for voters with disabilities. It was noted that overall, 85.6 per cent of poll workers receive training on disability inclusion but on the day of the elections, only 7.8 per cent of polling stations had information clerks able to assist persons with disabilities.Programme Director, GCOPD – Ganesh Singh (Photo: News Room)Majority, 82.9 per cent of polling stations were located on the ground floor, making them generally more accessible. Another significant improvement toward empowering persons with disabilities was that 72.3 per cent of polling stations had hallways free of obstacles, while 77.7 per cent had obstacle-free access to voting stations.Ganesh Singh, the Programme Manager presented the report at the National Library in Georgetown.The Canadian High Commissioner, Sébastien Sigouin was also in attendance. Singh said the report will be shared with stakeholders in efforts to improve the voting experience for persons living with disabilities. It was conducted with the support of Canada and Singh explained that persons with sight assisted those without to conduct the observations on Election Day.The attendees for the report presentation on Wednesday. (Photo: News Room)“A high percentage of the polling booths were low enough for someone sitting in a wheel chair to be able to mark their ballot independently,” Singh said.While these efforts were significant for improving the system, Singh noted that the ramps built for wheelchair use are not to correct specification as recommended by the National Commission on Disability.Additionally, Singh noted that the secrecy of the vote is important. To improve this, Guyana should look to Trinidad and Tobago’s adoption of tactile, a voting technology used for persons who cannot see, to improve their voting experience.“We are unable to vote independently and in secret because the options available to us is all dependent on an individual who is known to us and you can only trust someone so much,” Singh said.Singh said based on the report, more action is needed to make the electoral process more inclusive and accessible for every citizen.The post Improvements but some shortcomings persisted for voters with disabilities – GCOPD appeared first on News Room Guyana.