Visually-impaired to cast secret vote for first time in Delhi polls

New Delhi, Nov 19 (UNI) Visually-impaired voters will be for the first time able to cast a secret vote in the Delhi Assembly elections to be held on November 29.

The Delhi Election Commission for the first time has got ballot papers prepared with details of names of candidates, party names and their serial numbers in the Braille language, sources said.

These serial numbers will be remembered by the visually-challenged voters, who would identify them on electronic voting machines equipped with serial numbers in the Brailled language.

Earlier, blind voters used to take adult people along with them to exercise their franchise, a practice over which some serious doubts were raised in different quarters.

In democracy, everybody is entitled to cast a secret ballot but this was not possible for visually-challenged voters in Delhi earlier.

Though the DEC does not have the exact number of the visually-challenged voters, it says it will make arrangements for Braille ballot papers in every booth in the city.

More than four years ago, the Supreme Court had given a direction to the Election Commission that all EVMs should be equipped with Braille signages.

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