RIGHT OF SECRET BALLOT OF DISABLED IS VIOLATED DURING ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA, UNISON’S CHAIRMAN DECLARES

Noyan Tapan
Mar 06 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The right of secret ballot of disabled
is violated during almost all – presidential, parliamentary, local
self-government elections in Armenia. Armen Alaverdian, Chairman of
Unison NGO engaged in problems of disabled people, declared this at
the March 6 press conference.

Besides, in his words, according to the data of monitoring held
during the previous presidential and parliamentary elections,
only 10 out of 423 polling stations were accessible for disabled
people. A. Alaverdian said that candidates for deputy, parties
and Central Electoral Commission should undertake measures for
providing accessibility of polling stations for disabled people at
the forthcoming parliamentary elections. In addition to this, deaf
and blind people are not well-informed, either, on the threshold of
the elections. "For providing information to deaf people the parties
should have surdo-translation or information by running line in their
advertisement reels," he said. And brochures with Broil fonts on
activity of parties and candidates nominated by majoritarian system
should be published for blind people. Suren Ohanian, Chairman of
Paros NGO, said that soon they are going to implement programs aimed
at disabled people’s awareness in nine towns of the country. "The
disabled people will be provided information on electoral law and
parties’ preelection campaigns," S. Ohanian said.