For Sake Of The Disabled: Ensuring Enhanced, Inclusive Coverage Of Forthcoming Elections

The Ministry of Communication, MINCOM, with the support of the charity, Sightsavers, organized a two-day workshop on inclusive media coverage of forthcoming elections. It held from September 4-5, 2025 in Mbalmayo on the outskirts of Yaounde. The training was part of the implementation of Sightsavers’ project, “A Better World.” Which aims at promoting inclusive education and the participation of disabled people in public and political life. Taking part in the training were journalists and bloggers from the Network of Journalists for the Promotion of the Rights of Children and the Vulnerable, REJODEC, and the Association of Bloggers of Cameroon, ABC.

The training was moderated by Ngankak Kisito, Director of Development of Private Media and Advertising, and Focal Point for Sightsavers’ Project in the Ministry of Communication, and Mrs Aissatou Bouba, Subdirector for Private Media Development in the Ministry of Communication.

In Respect Of Conventions, Statutes 
Opening the workshop, the Divisional Delegate for Communication for Ngong and So’o Division in the Centre Region, Manga Assiga Simon Christian, said the training on inclusive coverage of elections was part of government’s commitment to respecting international conventions and national statutes on the promotion of the rights of the disabled. He said the media had a great role to play, with the presidential and regional polls just a few weeks away. By sensitizing the disabled on accessing polling stations, to make informed choices in the polling booth, listen to campaign messages on television… for the electoral process to be truly inclusive.
 “If the rights of the disabled are not well promoted, about 12 per cent of the population could be kept out of the electoral process,” the Delegate warned. Concluding, “Disability does not make one a lesser citizen.”  

Remaining Tasks 
According to Ngankak Kisito, the objectives of the workshop were largely met. Though some tasks still have to be completed. Like fine-tuning the action plans developed by members of REJODEC ABC. Which will be used to source for funding for the activities of the journalists and bloggers. The action plans also aim at giving the disabled the opportunity to freely exercise their franchise during forthcoming elections.

Attention Not Enough
The training was informed by the fact that the disabled were not fully taken into account in electoral processes. This is why Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, was invited to make a presentation at the workshop. ELECAM has introduced a number of measures to help the visually impaired and physically challenged to access polling stations and vote. There is need for more visibility on these innovations, especially on how the disabled are taking advantage of them. The media also has to talk about the involvement of disabled people in public and political life, Ngankak noted. 

Politicians-Disabled People’s Parley 
The MINCOM/Sightsavers’ partnership will assist the media in its advocacy and visibility role concerning the disabled and their participation in elections and other activities they carry out. Meanwhile, an activity will be organized in the coming weeks between representatives of presidential candidates and leaders of disabled people’s organisations to better understand what each side is doing. And possibly extract promises from the presidential candidates on what they plan to do for the disabled if elected, Kisisto Ngankak disclosed.          

Multiple Statutes
In his presentation on the legal framework and measures taken to promote the participation in politics by disabled people, Dr Ayo Martin Paul Desire of the Ministry of Social Affairs, listed a number of statutes in Cameroon that promote the rights of people with disability in politics. They include Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, the Law of April 13, 2025, the preamble to Cameroon’s Constitution and the African Charter on Human Rights. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities was ratified by Cameroon on December 28, 2021.

Meagre Voter Registration 
Boniface Mvondo of the Platform of Disabled People’s Organisations of Cameroon said over 500 members have been trained on participation in politics; with over 45,000 disabled having participated in in elections in 2018 and 2021. There disabled have one alternate senator, 14 municipal councilors and one mayor. Mvondo said there were over 4 million people with disabilities in Cameroon, with only 3,000 of them registered as voters. 

Almost Completely Absent 
He expressed that of the 10,700 municipal councilors in the country, there were only 14 disabled. With only one mayor out of 360; none amongst the 180 parliamentarians and 100 senators…Mvondo averred that if the participation of Cameroon’s disabled in elections and public life is properly harnessed, up to 200,000 of them could register for elections. He announced plans to register 5,000 disabled voters for future elections. 

Over 33,000 On Electoral Roll
Ekotto Franck Edward of Elections Cameroon disclosed that 33,985 disabled people were on the electoral roll as at December 2024. Saying people with disabilities had a potential electorate of 2 million. Adding that this was a major political governance challenge for ELECAM to get them registered as voters. 

ELECAM’s Inclusive Posture 
Meanwhile, ELECAM has introduced a number of measures to enhance the participation of disabled people in elections. Such as involving them in local election organization commissions; making the voting process more inclusive; introducing the tactile jacket for voting; inclusion of sign language interpretation in television announcements as well as inclusive media campaigns. 

International Awards 
Other measures are the use of inclusive visuals in posters and billboard messages; training on inclusive media coverage of elections; transporting disabled to and back from polling stations; training election officials on assisting the disabled to vote… Meanwhile, ELECAM recently won two international prizes for its efforts at including disabled people in electoral processes, Ekotto disclosed. “Including disabled people in the electoral process is a social justice right,&...