The third meeting of the State Steering Committee on Accessible Elections was held recently under the Chairpersonship of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjay Goel, IAS, at conference hall, Office of Chief Electoral Officer, Altinho, Panaji.
The meeting was convened to review past performance and for ensuring accessible, inclusive, and participative elections in future in the State, as well as to brief members about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
The Chief Electoral Officer emphasised on strengthening electoral inclusion through the theme “Accessible Elections”, ensuring that every eligible voter, including Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), senior citizens, and marginalised groups, can participate in the electoral process with ease and dignity.
The Chief Electoral Officer also briefed the Committee on the Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls with reference to 1st January 2026 as the qualifying date. This exercise aims to ensure that the electoral rolls of the State are accurate, inclusive, and updated, enabling every eligible citizen of Goa to participate in the democratic process. He informed that all Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been instructed to conduct house-to-house verification to ensure the accuracy of entries and to provide necessary assistance to electors, especially PwDs and senior citizens. He urged all stakeholders to actively support the SIR and the voter enrolment/ verification process through awareness particularly amongst the PwD electors.
In his concluding remark the Chief Electoral Officer called upon all departments and field officers to work in coordination so that “No Voter is Left Behind.”
Asst. Professor, Psychiatric Social Work at I. P. H. B. and Nodal Officer for Accessible Elections Sudesh Gaude, gave a sneak preview about the participation of Persons with Disabilities in the electoral process during the last Lok Sabha Elections, 2024, and all the measures that were taken by the CEO, Goa to ensure inclusive elections.
The Committee discussed key measures being undertaken, which included are Identification and tagging of PwD voters across all constituencies, ensuring accessibility infrastructure at polling stations like ramps, PwD toilets, wheel-chairs, and Braille-enabled facilities.
The need of Training and sensitising of polling personnel especially BLOs and Dissemination of voter awareness materials in accessible formats (audio-visual with sign language interpreter, Braille etc.) has been also taken into discussion.
In further deliberation, the committee also insisted on proper coordination among departments such as Social Welfare, Education Department, Public Works Department and Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities to facilitate barrier-free polling arrangements.
The stakeholders who participated in the meeting assured their full cooperation to ensure that the objectives of Accessible Elections and clean, inclusive electoral rolls – SIR are achieved in letter and spirit.
Representatives from various recognised organisations of persons with disabilities viz. Goa Association of Deaf – General Secretary, Prasad Joshi, Fr. Maverick Fernandes, Director Caritas – Goa, representatives of various departments viz. Public Works Department, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Social Welfare and Education Department were present for the meeting. Sudesh Nanda Gaude, Asst. Professor, Psychiatric Social Work at IPHB, Bambolim, Goa and Nodal Officer for Accessible Elections and Josefina Fernandes, Sign Language Interpreter were Special Invitees.
