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EOC Chairperson speaks out on inclusive voting ahead of District Council elections
The 2019 District Council Ordinary Election (Election) will be held on 24 November 2019 (Sunday). Registered electors whose names have been included in the 2019 Final Register of Electors may cast their vote in the Election.
On 13 November 2019, Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin, Chairperson of the EOC published an article in am730 to call on the Government, candidates and frontline staff to ensure that the equal voting rights of ethnic minority (EM) electors and those with disabilities will not be deprived due to language barriers and inaccessible polling facilities.
The article followed the press release issued by the Commission on 8 November 2019, which welcomed measures by the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) to facilitate disadvantaged communities to vote in the upcoming election. These include providing information on voting procedures and other key matters in seven EM languages (namely Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi, Nepali, Punjabi, Tagalog, Thai and Urdu), setting up temporary ramps for electors with mobility difficulties at polling stations when circumstances permit, and allowing electors with visual impairment to use a dedicated phone line to listen to a recording of the “Introduction to Candidates” through an interactive voice response system at the stations.
Notwithstanding these measures, the effort to promote inclusive voting needs to extend beyond the Government. As Mr Chu wrote, “The promotional materials distributed by most of the candidates are available in Chinese only. It is vital that the materials are available in both Chinese and English, in order to safeguard the rights of EMs to access information and vote on an equal basis with others. Not only would it enable EM electors to know the candidates and their platforms better, but it would also help candidates reach out to a wider community and expand their support base.”
The EOC urges all relevant parties to provide assistance to EM electors and people with disabilities as far as practicable, so that we can build a truly inclusive society where everyone has an equal opportunity to exercise their civil and political rights.
