Observers praise EC for recognising women, disabled

By HELEN TARAWA
The opportunity for women and people with disabilities to vote on separate lines in the elections indicated that the Electoral Commission has taken heed of some recommendations to improve, the Commonwealth Observer Group has noted.
Chairman Sir Satyanand Anand said the observers noted a variety of responses from the commission.
“We can say that the recommendation regarding women and their ability to come and vote was taken heed of,” he said.
“In some places there were specific lines for women to approach the polling station and to undertake their voting, it wasn’t something that was uniform throughout the country.”
Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato said the decision to have a separate line for women, people with disabilities and the elderly at  polling stations was one of the recommendations from the Commonwealth Observers Group after the 2012 general election. He said election managers and returning officers, mainly in the Highlands, were told to create two lines, one for men and the other for women, called election express lane.
Sir Anand said  among the positive things noted in the 2017 general election was that the disabled voters and women were recognised.