Tunis/Tunisia — The Tunisian Organisation for the Defence of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities estimated at 5% the turnout of people with disabilities in the runoff legislative elections of January 29, 2023, 1% lower than in the first round.
President of the organisation Yosri Mazati said at a press conference on Tuesday, that 2% of people with disabilities had been denied the right to participate because they had not presented a disability card, adding that his observers had seen that some people with disabilities had been denied the right of priority.
He added that the organisation had deployed 141 observers to monitor the data collection and analysis process in 670 centres in 131 constituencies, adding that 93% of polling stations had no sign language interpreters.
The official indicated that the organisation's observers had reported a lack of guidance for people with disabilities in 71% of the polling stations, underlining that almost half of the polling centres and stations lacked sign language posters and instructions related to the voting process.
He pointed out that 50% of the polling centres and stations had not been equipped and had been difficult to access for people with disabilities.
Some observers had encountered difficulties on polling day, and had been prevented from entering polling stations on the pretext that they had presented cards from the first round of elections, despite the existence of an agreement between the Independent Higher Authority for the Elections (ISIE) and the organisation to allow its observers to use the accreditation cards from the first round, the organisation president said.
Taking the floor, secretary general of the organisation Bouraouiya Agrebi considered that the ban on public funding of the election campaigns had prevented people with disabilities from being present in the new parliament.
She said that only four candidates had been able to secure sponsorship to run in the parliamentary elections, but that they had failed to win seats in parliament, calling for legal measures to ensure the presence of people with disabilities in the Council of Regions and Districts, which will be the second parliamentary chamber representing the legislative branch.
