Remarkable participation of disabled Egyptians in election

CAIRO – 26 March 2018: A relatively high turnout has been seen at polling stations across Egypt during the first day of the three-day Egyptian presidential election.

Many scenes were highlighted throughout the election process, but the most inspiring scenes were of people with disabilities and old age who were keen to participate in their country’s future despite the challenges they may face.

A polling station in Ismailia, one of the Canal Zone governorates of Egypt, has seen many cases of Egyptians with physical disabilities who came out to cast their votes.

The head of a polling station took the voting box out to a disabled citizen in a wheelchair in order to give him the opportunity to cast his vote with the aid of his relative.

The head of a polling station takes the voting box out to a disabled citizen in a wheelchair in order to give him the opportunity to cast his vote with the aid of his relative – Egypt Today/Sabry Ghanem

Another citizen in a wheelchair headed to his polling station in the Al-Sayyida Zaynab district of Cairo to cast his vote.

A citizen challenged his disability headed on wheelchair to his poll station at Al-Sayyida Zaynab district in Cairo to cast his vote – Egypt Today/Ramdan Hassan

Blindness also didn’t prevent nationals from casting their votes at most polling stations. Sohag Governor Ayman Abdel Moniem thanked a blind woman for her participation in the presidential vote.

Moreover, an elderly woman voted in the presidential election in Maadi, southern Cairo.

The National Council for Disability Affairs formed an operations room within its headquarters in Cairo in order to monitor the electoral process during the three polling days and receive complaints from voters with disabilities in all governorates.

The Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior provided a number of wheelchairs around the polling stations to assist people with disabilities and the elderly to cast their votes during the first day of the 2018 presidential election on Monday, March 26.

Also, the Crisis Management Center of the ministry deployed women's police forces around the polling stations to help the elderly and women with special needs reach their electoral committees and vote.

The National Elections Authority (NEA) head Lashen Ibrahim stressed in an interview with Middle East News Agency (MENA) Editor-in-Chief Ali Hassan that the NEA paid particular attention to disabled people and the elderly, so most of the sub-election committees will be on ground floors of the polling stations to spare them the difficulty of ascending the upper floors.

Ibrahim added that every polling station will be equipped with wheelchairs "to enable people with disabilities to participate and enter the headquarters of the committees.”

Sisi’s supporting camp in Upper Egypt's Assuit governorate has set up 30 stalls across the governorate in order to help the elderly voters and those with disabilities get informed with their voting numbers and specific stations.

A head of a polling station took the voting box out to disable citizen on wheelchair to give him the opportunity to cast his vote with the aid of his relative – Egypt Today/Sabry Ghanem

About 60 million Egyptians will cast their ballots on three consecutive days, starting Monday, to elect the country’s next president, in a race pitting incumbent President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi against Ghad Party Chairman Moussa Moustafa Moussa.

The 2018 presidential election is the third poll to take place in Egypt since the January 2011 revolution. Egyptian expatriates have already voted on March 16-18 in 124 countries.