Election Commission of India to hold a National Consultation on Accessible Elections

• The national consultation  will be participated among others by the Chief Electoral Officers of all states, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working in the area of empowerment of the differently abled and senior officials of the Union Ministries of Social Justice & Empowerment, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology, Youth Affairs and Sports, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Central Public Works Department and the National Literacy Mission Authority.
• The national event is the culmination of a nearly three-month-long series of district and state level consultations. They are aimed at identifying the barriers or gaps in the inclusion of PwD’s in the electoral process, to assess the existing accessibility initiatives and to find solutions for the challenges being faced by the PwD’s.  The whole exercise is to enhance their participation in the forthcoming state and Lok Sabha elections.
• The theme of “Inclusion of PwD’s” has been given a special focus in the ECI’s Strategic Plan 2016-2025. Besides, “Accessible Elections” has been adopted as its central theme for this year’s National Voters’ Day celebrations.
• The “National Consultation on Accessible Elections,” will be having three technical sessions over the course of the two days. The best practices on ‘Accessible Elections’ that were practised in six states during their last Assembly Elections will be shared in the meeting.
• The national consultation meet is expected to contribute significantly to evolve a policy on “Accessible Elections,” that will help in making electoral processes more and more accessible in the ensuing elections.