(OSCE (Organisation pour la sécurité et la coopération en Europe) Mission in Montenegro facilitated the visit)
A gloomy, cloudy day. As I think about whether I need a coat, raindrops on the window make the choice easier. I go out, it's a completely ordinary day on the street, nothing says that there are elections, European elections. I'm thinking, it's raining, boring raining with wind, there won't even be people at the polling stations (PS), which we'll observe. Turnout will be low again.
First PS, it promises, ideal spacious driveway, wide entrance, wide hallway, wide door, both wings open. And inside the PS, in a Scandinavian way, reduced, the space is fully used, with an easy route to the table where two members of the electoral committee (EC) are sitting. However, no tactile paths, no clear route for visually impaired people. The table at which the two EC members sit is low, just as it should be. Yes, only two EC members sit at the table. One registers voters by surname from A-L, and the other from M-Ö. No electronic identification. Passport, identity card, driver's license, everything is acceptable. The EC member just circles the voter on the paper statement. Gives the voter a ballot. Quite simple, A5 format, folding. On the ballot, there is information that the European elections are on the left, and on the right is a circle, in which the number of candidates from the open list should be entered.
If you are a visually impaired person, you do not have the option of using a ballot template, and you cannot vote independently or secretly. At each PS there is a person who is in charge of assisting voters with disabilities, elderly people, foreigners and others who request it. At many PS, representatives of NGOs who collected donations sat at a separate table. PS, at least the one I visited in Helsinki, have adequate access, entrance, interior space, lighting, a cabin for PWDs, as well as a box, which is on the floor. After leaving the booth, the voter places the ballot on the table, where the EC member stamps the ballot, which the voter puts in the box. There are no coupons, and there are always more ballots, because even if the voter makes a mistake in the booth, he/she can come to the table and ask for a new ballot, while the old one is destroyed on the spot by tearing.
Electoral confidence seems to be huge. EC members are quite relieved, without tension. There are five EC members at PS. Voters come with mobile phones, headphones, sunglasses, in uniforms and everything runs smoothly. Although it was stipulated that the list of candidates should be available in Braille, this was not the case.
The improvement of the election process for PWDs is expected by 2027. According to employees of the Ministry of Justice, the voting template will be implemented in the next elections. Although democracy was celebrated, many PWDs could not exercise their rights equally with others. There remains hope that the new convocation of the Parliament will enable all citizens, regardless of their differences, to exercise their rights without discrimination in 2029.
Perhaps, exactly in 2029, we in Montenegro will organize the first European elections.
Katarina Bigović Kulić, deputy director of the Union of the Blind of Montenegro Monday, June 17, 2024.