President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified on Wednesday the Third Amendment Bill to the Elections (General) Act to allow persons with vision impairment to vote without an assistant.
Hinnavaru MP Jeehan Mahmood proposed the amendment, stating that persons with visual impairment could vote using a template on the ballot paper upon request.
It was passed unanimously by 51 MPs at the 13th sitting of parliament's second session held on June 19.
The template, which is used in several other countries, has cut-outs to align with the boxes to be ticked on the ballot paper. The cut-outs will be designed to allow persons with vision impairment to identify ballot numbers by touch.
The amendment to the law specifies the circumstances and procedures for using the template.
The Blind Association lobbied for the right of persons with vision impairment to vote without assistance. In the past, they were only able to vote with an assistant.
The president also ratified on Wednesday the Fourth Amendment Bill to the Presidential Elections Act.
The amendment amends Section 5(d) of the legislation, proposing to extend the presidential candidature filing window from 10 to 14 days.
