BAJURA, OCTOBER 22
Like in the past elections, differently-abled, elderly and the pregnant will have a hard time casting their votes in the November 20 elections of the House of Representatives and province assembly due to the location of voting centres in Bajura.
Bajura District Differently-abled People Chair Man Bahadur Hamal says that more than 10 voting centres lie at distances that takes from two hours to one day to reach. This makes it very difficult for carry pregnant and disabled people to the voting centre to cast their votes.
Owing to off-location voting centres, many people have been deprived of their right to vote. District Election Office has been asked to add voting centres, but the demand has not been addressed.
Padam Bahadur Singh of Juwapani of Budhiganga- said that he would be deprived of the right to vote due to the faraway location of the voting centre. The voting centre is two-hour walk from his home. But, he will not be able to cast his ballot as his legs are paralyzed.
District Election Officer Nabaraj Awasthi admitted that some voting centres were located at a distance in some villages. "Some pregnant, elderly and disabled people are likely to miss the opportunity to vote due to lack of voting centres at convenient place," Awasthi said.
The law has it that voting centres have to be disabled-friendly. But, a lot of disabled, elderly and pregnant women are sure to miss the opportunity to cast their ballot.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 23, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
