People wait in queues to cast their votes at a polling booth during the first phase of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, in Doda district, J&K, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.
PTI
Jammu and Kashmir recorded a 61.38% voter turnout in the first phase of J&K Assembly elections, as per the Election Commission's final count. The first phase was held across 24 constituencies in seven districts as phase one of the Union Territory's first Assembly elections in a decade concluded peacefully on Wednesday.
These elections are significant as they are the first since 2014 and since the removal of Article 370 in August 2019, which stripped the region of its special status. This also marks the first assembly elections for Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory, following the division of the state into two UTs – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Voters with disabilities
As per the Election Commission of India website, the election body is "committed for building an equal access framework for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) supported by the fundamentals of responsiveness, respect and dignity to enhance elector confidence among them; and support initiatives for improved service offerings and enhancing their electoral participation."
As per the definition of 'disabled', the EC specifies the 21 disabilities as mentioned by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016. As of now, PwD voters are enrolled in electoral roll in following four broad categories:
1. Visual impairment
2. Speech & hearing disability
3. Locomotor disability
4. Other
A PwD voter can register in any of the above categories by submitting Form 6 through online registration or submitting form at voter service centre or through Saksham ECI Application
Initiatives by the Commission for PwDs
The Commission has taken various interventions from time to time to facilitate the elections for persons with disabilities. Some of the initiatives taken are:-
- Mapping of all the Persons with Disabilities polling station wise
- All Polling Stations are to be situated on the ground floor
- PwD friendly facilities under Assured Minimum Facility (AMF)
- Separate Queue for PwDs
- Optional home voting facility
- Voter EPICS/Slips in Braille
- Braille Features on EVMs
- Wheel Chairs and Ramps with Proper Gradient
- Free Transport facility with Pick and Drop Facility
In order to facilitate voting by PwDs electors, Commission has started some critical and focused initiatives like providing wheelchair facilities during elections, volunteer assistance in the booth, and transport to the polling station. Further, to facilitate visually impaired people, the Commission has introduced a very important feature in the PwD application, which reads out the full candidate list with name and serial number to the voter.
In addition, the voter can select the desired number from the ballot list and cast their vote with ease. 47,727 requests for marking themselves as PwD have been received from the app. Till today 3,105,355 user has viewed their PwD status.
PwD App
In addition, the EC has developed an android based mobile application — the PwD App. An eligible person with a disability or reduced mobility / physical functions can get enrolled in electoral roll by declaring themselves as a person with a disability.
Upon receiving the request from PwD electors/ voters, the election commission will ensure that the booth level officer will reach the doorstep delivery of electoral services.
The PwD app facilitates PwD Voters in verifying their names in the electoral roll, enrolling 170 ICT2020 them, getting theirname, address and photograph corrected.To do this, mobile accessibility features like voice-over prompts, high contrasting interface, and easy navigation features were developed in the app.
The user interface was kept very simple. The PwD user enters the mobile number and address and the information travels down to Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) in minutes and ERO in-turn allocate the case to Booth Level Officer to visit the home of the PwD user to get the form filled up.
During the whole process, PwD App user can use the reference number to track their application status.
The Application is available on the Google Play Store and can be downloaded using this link.
Assembly Elections 2024 | In the first assembly polls since the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and the BJP face a rejuvenated and vindicated Opposition in the Haryana assembly polls. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir is voting after almost a decade and it remains to be seen how the abrogation of Article 370 has impacted the political landscape of the Valley. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.