SUKKUR: The Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to facilitate the marginalised groups, persons with disabilities, the elderly and pregnant and lactating women in using their right to vote in upcoming general elections.

Iqbal Ahmed Detho, SHRC chairperson, said at a coordination meeting focused on the theme of “Ensuring Democratic Integrity and Human Rights in Elections 2023” held the other day at the commission’s office in collaboration with PAHEL Pakistan, that the commission would write letters to political parties to ensure they reserved five per cent quota for women to contest elections on general seats in the areas where the parties had certain following, said a press release.

He said the SHRC emphasised ensuring quota for minority candidates belonging to various socio-economic strata.

The meeting sought to strengthen democratic processes, safeguard human rights during upcoming elections and address critical issues surrounding electoral quality and inclusiveness in the province, he said.

He said the meeting focused on enabling marginalised groups to exercise their right to vote as equal citizens of Pakistan and highlighted key recommendations in this regard.

He called upon the ECP to address the challenges faced by persons with disabilities and reduce barriers to access to voting, which included avoiding inaccessible polling station locations for them and ensuring the availability of ramps at polling stations to facilitate them. The same should apply to elderly individuals and pregnant and lactating women, he said.

Detho said the SHRC urged ECP to eliminate obstacles encountered by women and facilitate their participation by establishing polling stations that catered to women’s needs, offering amenities such as toilets, and drinking water, and ensuring proper security and seating arrangements.

Regarding transgender individuals, he said that there was a need for encouraging them to obtain their Computerised National Identity Cards promptly and participate in the voting process.

He said that polling staff should undergo sensitization to warmly welcome transgender individuals exercising their voting rights and foster a positive and inclusive environment for them.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2023