‘The deaf not equipped to vote’

Barely a week to the May 20 Tripartite Elections, the Malawi National Association for the Deaf (Manad) says its members do not have adequate information to enable them actively participate in the voting process.

Speaking at a media briefing in Blantyre, Manad chairperson Charles Mtambo predicted low turnout among people with hearing impairments, saying the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and organisations accredited to provide civic and voter education are systematically denying the deaf access to electoral information.

“Critical electoral-related information is mostly relayed in audio formats on radios and television stations. This is inaccessible to us and that’s why we’re expressing these concerns,” Mtambo said.

He said failure by providers of voter civic education and political parties to employ sign language in their activities prevent the deaf from participating in vital electoral processes such as the voter verification exercise.

“Access to information is a human right issue. It is wrong, therefore, that parties and electoral stakeholders should be sidelining us in critical issues such as elections on the basis of our disability,” lamented Mtambo.

A member of Manad, Juliana Mwase, observed that despite having policies aimed at fostering equality of persons irrespective of their physical differences, government is not doing enough to implement them.

Mwase noted that failure to implement the policies has further aggravated the challenges the deaf face in the country.