Some visually impaired voters say IEC & political parties did not cater to the differently abled
As special voting concludes, some blind and visually impaired people living at the Johannesburg Society for the Blind have experienced delays in casting their votes.
The Johannesburg Society for the Blind. Picture: Paballo Lekalakala/Eyewitness news
JOHANNESBURG - As special voting concludes, some blind and visually impaired people living at the Johannesburg Society for the Blind have experienced delays in casting their votes.
The group had been waiting to vote since 9am on Tuesday morning and complained of a lack of assistance and direction from Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) agents over the process.
They were ready to make their mark all day but IEC agents had so far been a no-show.
Singing from the same hymn book, the voters said that this was not a first-time occurrence, bemoaning the IEC's neglect of people living with disabilities.
The voters said that should they find no joy, they would physically go to voting stations on Wednesday to exercise their democratic right.
The group not only decried the IEC but political parties too, adding that they have failed to cater to those who were differently abled.