Charles Birekeraho was on Tuesday, July 16, able to vote – without the help of a child as would have been the case without braille ballot papers – for the candidate he wants to represent persons with disabilities in the Chamber of Deputies.

He cast his vote at a polling station in Kimihurura Sector, in Kigali, as other members of his electoral college around the country also participated in elections for parliamentary representatives of special interest groups; women, youth, and persons with disabilities.

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During the 2017 presidential elections, Birekeraho recalled, there was no braille ballot paper, and he relied on the help of a child to vote.

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When a visually impaired person is unable to vote or put a ballot paper in a ballot box by himself or herself, the law governing elections permits a child of ages between 14 and 18 to assist the person to vote. This, Birekeraho said, is not the best option because the child could misguide the person with the disability in terms of who to choose as the child could be influenced by other people.

"This is the first time I voted with the help of a braille ballot. It is progress that we are all happy with,” he said.

"I was able to effectively cast my vote independently thanks to braille ballot paper,” he said.

"There was a big shape in form of square such that a voter could not get confused. That is where a voter would tick to choose a candidate he or she wants,” he added.

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Jacques Mugisha, a member of the National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), said that they developed a tool called Imboneza y’Itora which is meant to facilitate persons with disabilities to be able to vote independently – without relying on the help of a child.

"We used to come to cast our vote with a child who is not older than 14 years. But this was a little bit challenging because the child is not mature enough, and when you give her or him instructions, sometimes he or she cannot follow keenly the instructions you gave,” he said.

The development of the tool, he said, "is good news for us.”

"Now, I am lucky that I am able to vote independently using Imboneza y’Itora,” he said.