PwDs opting for postal ballot allege threat by political party members

CHENNAI: Activists working for the rights of differently-abled persons have claimed that they have been receiving complaints of political party members intimidating differently-abled people who have opted for postal ballots. They said that there have been instances of party members distributing money just a day before voting.

“In Villupuram, a boy with cerebral palsy had opted for postal ballot service. His voting was scheduled two days ago. Just a day before that, he was bribed by some members of a party. The blatant flouting of norms did not end there,” said S Annamalai, general secretary of the December 3 Movement. 

He added that on the day of voting, the father of the boy was asked to vote on behalf of the boy. “His father had complained to us. The election team had told his father that he could vote on behalf of his son. But, that opens a lot of avenues for vote manipulation.”

In another incident, a man from Kallakurichi said that the Village Administration Officer did not give his voting slip. “I am against the political party that they are supporting. So, they are holding my vote. It is the same case with two other people that I know,” he said.

As many as 9,000 people applied for postal ballots in 16 Assembly constituencies of Chennai, and election officials found that out of them, 7,300 were eligible. “There are lots of complaints of intimidation, stopping ingress, and denial of postal ballot by village administration officers across the State. This will in some way affect the election results,” said TMN Deepak, differently-abled rights activist.

Experts had earlier made an observation that the postal ballots would turn out to be a game-changer, mostly benefiting the party in power as most returning officers (RO) would obey their bosses. “The discretionary power of ROs would play a more important role than peoples’ power here. It would be a big threat to democracy,” they predicted. 

‘My voting slip is withheld’
A man from Kallakurichi said that the Village Administration Officer did not give his voting slip. “I am against the political party that they are supporting. So, they are holding my vote. It is the same case with two other people that I know,” he said