Schools, daycares, offices, and other public buildings that are going to be used as voting stations are not accommodating for people with disabilities. NGOs that focus on the rights of handicapped individuals bring up this issue during very election, but nothing gets resolved. Many people with disabilities stay at home on election day, despite the fact that the Electoral Code demands that all voting stations be accessible.
Head of the Unison NGO Armen Alaverdyan raised the issue in front of government workers and Yerevan officials, saying that members of the NGO will be meeting with Nikol Pashinyan to discuss this issue.
“Children with disabilities are unable to go to public schools and receive a normal education.” He said that there are 187 thousand registered individuals with disabilities in Armenia, but the real number is likely to be a lot higher.
“We are tired of hearing that schools and daycares were built during the Soviet era and therefore, are unable to accommodate people with disabilities. That is not our problem. They should make these events be in locations that are easily accessible. This is the technological era. There is such thing as electronic voting.”
Lusine Budaghyan
