Organisations representing blind and disabled persons are insisting on equal voting rights, with those who have visual or hearing impairments able to cast a ballot in the November 8 poll the same way anyone else would.

They have rejected an offer by the Yangon Election Commission to provide separate facilities for people with visual and other handicaps.

The election commission said it had aimed to help voters with the special accommodation and consulted two schools for the blind on provisions for an assisted vote.

“We asked how they wanted to vote and whether we should build special voting places for them,” said U Ko Ko, Yangon Election Commission chair.

U Thein Lwin, general secretary of the Christian Fellowship for the Blind, said his 120 members did not want special voting arrangements.

“If we have to vote separately, we would have no privacy and our vote would not be secret. We want to vote the same way as everybody else, with the help of a companion,” he said, adding that some of his members were not listed in the voter register.

The chair of Shwe Minthar Foundation for the rights of the disabled, U Myat Thu Winn, also contested the practicalities of separate voting arrangements on the grounds of ensuring secrecy.

“We want to the right to vote independently,” he said, adding that his foundation would post members in 10 townships to help other disabled persons to vote.

The commission said that if voters with any disabilities wish to vote at the public polling stations, assistance would be provided.

“We will allow disabled persons to vote freely at public polling stations. Election law allows disabled persons to receive assistance in voting from a family member or close friend,” U Ko Ko told The Myanmar Times on October 1.

“We will make a recommendation to the Union Election Commission in accordance with their desires,” he added.

In Yangon Region, there are about 300,000 disabled people, according to official records.