LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigerians know that election season is fast approaching.
Politicians eating corn in markets, dancing with children in the streets and handing out bags of rice with their pictures on them as souvenirs – familiar scenes in a country that prioritizes personality over ideology – are becoming more common.
Like clockwork, these signs began popping up again last June, when registration for the 2023 election opened.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, voter turnout has been declining for years, falling from 65% in 2003 to 34% in 2019. Commentators and politicians often blame voter apathy and electoral violence, ignoring what some stakeholders in the electoral process say is a lack of inclusiveness in Africa’s largest democracy.
And Lois Outa, who has been paralyzed by polio since the age of two, worries about herself and other people with disabilities (PWDs).
In the 2019 general elections, Auta ran for federal office in the capital, Abuja, representing the Accord Party. “There were good times and bad times,” she told Al Jazeera. “My candidacy showed tenacity and courage, given the obstacles that exist for women with disabilities.”
Recent data on people living with disabilities in Nigeria is hard to come by, but a 2018 World Bank report estimated that one in six Nigerians lives with a disability.
But Auta is one of the few people running for or participating in political office in an electoral process that has historically paid little attention to the needs of this important demographic.
It is not surprising that as of May 30, with just one month left until registration closed, people with disabilities made up less than 1% of those who had registered.
“Go home and go to bed.”
Experts say the marginalization of people with disabilities extends beyond the elections to other aspects of Nigerian life, where nearly half the population lives in poverty and many complain of inadequate health care, lack of access to public facilities and the effects of ongoing economic insecurity.
And when they do decide to vote or be voted for, they say the process is cumbersome and next to impossible.
“The realities and treatment of the three most marginalized and underrepresented demographics — women, youth, and people with disabilities — all overlap,” said Aisha Osoli, former head of the Association for the Liberation of West Africa (OSIWA) and author of “Love Does Not Win Elections,” which details her experience as a female political aspirant.
“In countries with high poverty and unemployment, the cost of elections is a common challenge for women and people with disabilities,” Ossoli told Al Jazeera.
During the 2019 elections, Auta had few problems getting around her polling station, even though some campaign venues were not wheelchair accessible.
After voting, she asked to fill out an INEC-designated form to obtain feedback from PWDs to help with planning the polling station, though she later found out that none of the officials knew the form was there or at any other polling station.
There were other challenges as well.
“People without fingers can’t vote,” she said, “and people with albinism or visual impairments can’t vote. Not all polling stations have Braille ballots available.”
During the election campaign, she appeared on a radio show with two male candidates running for the same post, and a male listener called in to tell her that the male candidates had a shot but not her. “Go home and get some sleep,” he told her.
“People care more about a candidate’s disability or gender than their credibility or ability,” Auta told Al Jazeera, saying that although she lost the election, it inspired her to keep trying to include more people with disabilities in the electoral process.
Her vehicle for this was the Cedar Seed Foundation, a non-profit she founded in 2011 to help people who feel “marginalized and undervalued” access social security benefits, and the foundation’s first project was to provide 120 wheelchairs to people in need.
A new beginning?
Earlier this year, a new electoral law was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, which includes provisions that “persons with disabilities and special needs may be assisted at polling stations by the provision of appropriate means of communication, such as Braille, large raised print, electronic devices, sign language interpretation, or off-site voting, where appropriate.”
Four years ago, the INEC Policy Framework was launched which aims to “include persons with disabilities in all aspects of the electoral process” and “reduce the barriers faced by persons with disabilities.”
According to INEC Civil Society Liaison Officer in Lagos, Luke Buba, the electoral body now allows voters to list their specific disabilities when registering to vote, allowing it to tailor plans to suit their needs.
Gabriel Taia, INEC’s Ikeja zonal officer in Lagos, told Al Jazeera that INEC was intensifying voter education and ensuring the framework’s nationwide implementation.
“When they come, we will not delay them… We [them] “Soon,” he said.
The Ikeja registration centre has stairs and no ramps, and Tyre said some of his team will go downstairs to accommodate those who cannot climb the stairs. He also said braille forms will be provided to the visually impaired, and facial recognition devices will be provided to those who cannot leave a thumbprint.
According to Buba, INEC did not properly implement the 2018 framework in the 2019 elections because it “did not have accurate data on where the ancillary equipment should be deployed and there was no provision for all polling stations.”
He said the budget allocated to enable persons with disabilities to vote in the 2023 elections would be dedicated to raising awareness about the electoral process and procuring magnifying glasses, tactile voting guides, signage posters, sign language interpreters and other assistive devices.
Experts say these are good steps in the right direction, but still a long way from inclusion.
“The last time I checked, polling stations were still inaccessible,” said David Anyare, founder of the Lagos-based Citizens’ Centre for Disabled (CCD). “The worst are the state electoral commissions, which are currently no-go zones in terms of access and participation in the electoral process.”
Anyere, who lost both his arms, was instrumental in lobbying for the passage of an anti-discrimination law in favour of persons with disabilities in 2018. He said the CCD had also reviewed the INEC draft framework and had been monitoring its implementation.
“We are pleased to have secured a legal framework that prohibits discrimination and other harmful practices against people with disabilities,” Anaere said. “We are aware that several government agencies have shown support for our work. [but] Election authorities must take appropriate measures [fully] “Implement the 2022 Elections Act.”
“I feel discriminated against [against] Everyday life as a woman with a disability [but] “This framework has given a voice to people with disabilities,” Auta said. “We are slowly making progress. The situation is different now than it was 10 years ago.”
Conversations about inclusion
Additionally, people with disabilities say the conversations about inclusion are only focused on voting rights, not just physical disabilities. “We have people in our community who are mentally disabled,” Outa said. “I think what we can demand is a rethink.”
“[And] “If you want people with disabilities to run for office, volunteer to support them,” she said.
According to Osoli, for women with disabilities to win elections in Nigeria, investment will be needed to build the right political parties. “Women with disabilities, and women in general, need to realise that we can’t just continue as is, we have to change the game.”
Auta ran for a parliamentary seat in her home state of Kaduna on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) earlier this year but lost in the primary elections. She said she only knows one person with a disability who has won an election in Nigeria – a man who lost his bid for reelection – and she is eager to change that.
“We are zero percent,” she said. “That’s why I want to change the narrative.”