- The League of the Friends of the Blind (Lofob) has accused the IEC of inadequacies that excluded blind individuals during voting.
- Lofob highlighted the unavailability of a special voting template for blind people, leading to privacy concerns and a lack of independence in voting.
- Lofob has emphasised the need for fair elections and called on the IEC to investigate and ensure independent voting for blind individuals in the future.
The League of the Friends of the Blind (Lofob) has called out the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) for “inadequacies” which reportedly left blind people “excluded” at the polls.
In a statement on Tuesday 28 May, Lofob explained that the special voting template designed for blind people was unavailable, which detracted from the privacy of the vote.
“Lofob made its premises available to facilitate voting for blind people on the special voting day on Monday 27 May,” the statement read.
Lofob further said it was a shame on South Africa that blind people were treated in that way.
“Blind people want to vote independently and in secret, this was not possible and therefore the election can’t be declared free and fair.”
Shahiemah Edwards, Lofob executive director, says blind people want to be part of society and not excluded as they worked hard to get the correct templates in place.
“It is such a great pity that all our efforts to encourage blind people to participate independently in voting are disregarded by seemingly non-caring government officials,” said Edwards.
Discussions
Edwards further claimed that Lofob on three different occasions prior to the elections had discussions with IEC officials to pave the way for a fair election.
“Lofob calls on the IEC to investigate what went wrong and how this can be avoided in future,” she said. “Lofob stands ready as in the past to advise and guide the IEC on matters pertaining to blind people voting independently.”
Meanwhile, Benita Petersen, Lofob manager for children, youth and adults, says blind people should be treated as equal members of the community.
IEC spokesperson Lenore Oliver confirmed receipt of questions regarding the allegations and promised to respond in due course.
“I will need time to get back to you.”
