Participation of Minorities

In Nepal, more than 513,300 people live with a physical disability, according to Nepal’s 2011 National Population and Housing Census. People who are blind and visually impaired constitute 18.5 percent of the physically disabled population.

According to the Nepali Election Law, voters are required to vote in their home districts, unless they can prove permanent migration to another part of the country. A person needs a migration certificate, citizenship, and recommendations from their village development committee and district development committee governmental officers. This has become an obstacle for disabled voters as

Arrangement for voters with disability is , if requested, the election officer shall assist a voter unable to cast their own vote due to sickness, old age, or physical infirmity such as blindness, or absence of eyesight or hands. The election officer shall mark the ballot according to the expressed will of the voter. However, there is no regulation in place that determine who is eligible to cast a vote on behalf of a blind voter. In some cases, family member can also cast vote for visually impaired voters.

Braille ballot is not available in Nepal. However, even though it were available, the majority of visually impaired people cannot use them because 65% of people with visual impairments are illiterate and cannot use Braille.

Source

https://www.ndi.org/files/1618_np_electionmanualPDF.pdf
https://globalpressjournal.com/asia/nepal/nepal-s-visually-impaired-fear-for-ability-to-vote-in-november-election/

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