The Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (FEDOMA) is calling on the government and electoral authorities to ensure that the upcoming elections are inclusive and accessible to people with disabilities.
Simon Munde, Executive Director of FEDOMA, highlighted the challenges faced by people with disabilities during the voter registration process.
He said FEDOMA is pushing for greater representation and participation of people with disabilities in the electoral process, citing the need for equal rights and opportunities.
Munde pointed out that many registration centres were inaccessible, preventing people with disabilities from participating. “Just looking backwards at the way the registration process was conducted, we noted was that there were lots of inaccessibility, lots of barriers in terms of the registration centres.”
He further said FEDOMA has been in discussions with MEC, but expressed frustration with the commission’s excuses. “They always say they use borrowed premises, but we have been voting since 1994. Don’t they have ideas on how to make polling centres accessible?” he asked.
He has since urged MEC to involve persons with disabilities in decision-making processes, ensuring their needs are prioritized, as excluding their perspectives would be counterproductive to their interests.
“They should not think they would do things for persons with disabilities without persons with disabilities anything they do without persons with disabilities themselves is against persons with disabilities,” emphasized Munde.
Meanwhile, Munde says the organization currently lacks a dedicated fund to support contestants, as it is still in the process of resource mobilization.
However, Munde noted that there are institutions like Oxfam and WOLREC that offer support to various candidates, including women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
