Voice-Ghana, a Ho-based disability interest NGO, is prompting and preparing People With Disabilities (PWDs) in the Agotime-Ziope and Adaklu districts to vie for Unit Committee membership in the forthcoming local government elections.

This push of PWDs into politics is under a 50,000-dollar Democratic Governance Scheme, dubbed We Are Also Involved, running from January to December 2014.

The project, being funded by Strengthening Transparency Accountability and Responsiveness (STAR)-Ghana, followed a successful antecedent scheme, in the period before the 2012 Presidential Elections in Ghana, which put disability issues on the political platform in the two districts.

Mr Charles Valentine Nyante, Voice-Ghana Programme Coordinator, at a workshop at Agortime-Kpetoe to prepare 35 PWDs, representing various disability associations, said a survey indicated a huge interest of PWDs in governance issues, but the zest for participation was not there.

He said a minimum of 10 PWDs among 64 interviewed, agreed in principle to participate in the forthcoming local government elections in the two project districts, stressing there was the need to increase the number as the period of elections approached.

Mr Nyante said the project would seek to encourage many more PWDs to register as voters towards all elections, make polling stations more accessible, and get higher numbers of them engaged by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) as Polling Assistants.

He said advocacy in the past few years had resulted in marginal increases in participation of PWDs in politics in the areas, most of them voting and having better access to and better reception at polling stations.

The short programme was very interactive, bringing out from the PWDs some frustrations about the workings of the electoral system.

Vincentia Assem, a Trader at Agortime-Kpetoe said she was dropped from a motorbike when she told the rider her vote was secret.

Beatrice Adorvlo, Trader at Ziope, stressed that the engagement of PWDs by the EC as Polling Assistants should not be cosmetic.

A similar project- research validating workshop has also been held in the Adaklu District.

GNA