An amendment to the laws regarding elections have been proposed to allow the visually impaired to vote on their own in the upcoming presidential elections.

The government has proposed this amendment at a time when advocates for the visually impaired are calling for the privacy of visually impaired voters.

Spokesperson of the President's Office, Miuvaan Mohamed, told a news conference at the President's Office today that the amendment has been proposed to allow visually impaired voters to put the checkmark on the ballot paper without the assistance of anyone else.

The Visually Impaired Society of Maldives has met with members of the Parliament to seek the opportunity for the visually impaired to vote on their own. In the meeting, they demonstrated how visually impaired people can vote on their own. The association displayed a plastic sheet made to match the ballot paper.

The association said that since the plastic sheet has checkmark areas embossed, the visually impaired can easily identify where they can put the checkmarks. The association also stated that they have received no information stating that there is a legal obstacle to the use of the sheet when voting, and no institution has said that it cannot be done.