‘How do I know I really voted?’ - The silent struggle of Namibia’s blind voters
When Frans Sinengela voted for the first time in 2004 at Katima Mulilo, it felt like freedom.
“There were election materials in braille,” he recalled. “It was so easy and exciting – I could go through the list of candidates until I found the name of my preferred candidate.”
Braille is a form of written language consisting of raised dots that can be read with the fingertips by people who are blind or who have low vision.
But twenty years later, that welcome show of independence has faded. During the last elections, Sinengela had to rely on someone else to mark his ballot.
“It left me with doubt,” he admitted. “How do I know the person really voted for the candidate I chose? How do I vote when I can’t read?”
For blind and visually impaired Namibians, Sinengela’s question echoes a deeper dilemma, one rooted in dignity, trust and diverse accessibility within Namibia’s democratic system.
Voting materials in braille are printed by government and distributed to constituencies, but without accurate data on how many visually impaired voters live in each area, some of those ballots go unused, a costly imbalance that risks discouraging future production.
Although the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has not released official regional disability statistics, proportional analysis from its 2025 final voter register suggests that about 22 245 people with disabilities – roughly 1.4% of Namibia’s 1.49 million registered voters – are eligible to cast their votes this year.
The Khomas Region alone is estimated to have around 3 975 registered voters living with disabilities, followed by Omusati, Ohangwena and Erongo, each likely ranging between 1 900 and 2 100.
Smaller and more remote regions such as Kunene, Zambezi and Hardap each account for fewer than 1 000.
Barriers to access
While Namibia has one of Africa’s most progressive disability-rights frameworks, including the National Disability Policy (2017–2022) and ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, implementation on the ground remains uneven.
Many polling venues reportedly remain difficult to access for wheelchair users, lack ramps or are located far from transport routes.
For blind and partially sighted voters, the absence of tactile ballot guides at some stations means they must rely on election officials or companions, undermining their constitutional right to a secret vote.
Deaf voters, too, face communication barriers due to the shortage of sign-language interpreters and voter education materials in Namibian Sign Language. Some polling officials, lacking disability-sensitivity training, inadvertently rush or over-assist voters with disabilities, leaving them feeling exposed or patronised, voters have reported.
Doubts persist
ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka said the commission has made special provisions to address these barriers.
“We have arranged ramps and accessible entry points at school premises, halls and churches serving as polling stations to accommodate people using wheelchairs or stretchers,” he said.
“For the visually impaired, the ECN advises them to bring a trusted companion who will assist in the presence and supervision of a polling officer to ensure transparency and privacy.”
Siluka added that braille ballot papers, some remaining from the 2024 presidential and National Assembly elections, will be reissued at selected polling stations “to help blind and partially sighted voters cast their ballots independently.”
Still, for voters like Sinengela, the question lingers long after the ballots are counted – not whether he voted, but whether he was ever truly free to choose.
“There were election materials in braille,” he recalled. “It was so easy and exciting – I could go through the list of candidates until I found the name of my preferred candidate.”
Braille is a form of written language consisting of raised dots that can be read with the fingertips by people who are blind or who have low vision.
But twenty years later, that welcome show of independence has faded. During the last elections, Sinengela had to rely on someone else to mark his ballot.
“It left me with doubt,” he admitted. “How do I know the person really voted for the candidate I chose? How do I vote when I can’t read?”
For blind and visually impaired Namibians, Sinengela’s question echoes a deeper dilemma, one rooted in dignity, trust and diverse accessibility within Namibia’s democratic system.
Voting materials in braille are printed by government and distributed to constituencies, but without accurate data on how many visually impaired voters live in each area, some of those ballots go unused, a costly imbalance that risks discouraging future production.
Although the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has not released official regional disability statistics, proportional analysis from its 2025 final voter register suggests that about 22 245 people with disabilities – roughly 1.4% of Namibia’s 1.49 million registered voters – are eligible to cast their votes this year.
The Khomas Region alone is estimated to have around 3 975 registered voters living with disabilities, followed by Omusati, Ohangwena and Erongo, each likely ranging between 1 900 and 2 100.
Smaller and more remote regions such as Kunene, Zambezi and Hardap each account for fewer than 1 000.
Barriers to access
While Namibia has one of Africa’s most progressive disability-rights frameworks, including the National Disability Policy (2017–2022) and ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, implementation on the ground remains uneven.
Many polling venues reportedly remain difficult to access for wheelchair users, lack ramps or are located far from transport routes.
For blind and partially sighted voters, the absence of tactile ballot guides at some stations means they must rely on election officials or companions, undermining their constitutional right to a secret vote.
Deaf voters, too, face communication barriers due to the shortage of sign-language interpreters and voter education materials in Namibian Sign Language. Some polling officials, lacking disability-sensitivity training, inadvertently rush or over-assist voters with disabilities, leaving them feeling exposed or patronised, voters have reported.
Doubts persist
ECN spokesperson De Wet Siluka said the commission has made special provisions to address these barriers.
“We have arranged ramps and accessible entry points at school premises, halls and churches serving as polling stations to accommodate people using wheelchairs or stretchers,” he said.
“For the visually impaired, the ECN advises them to bring a trusted companion who will assist in the presence and supervision of a polling officer to ensure transparency and privacy.”
Siluka added that braille ballot papers, some remaining from the 2024 presidential and National Assembly elections, will be reissued at selected polling stations “to help blind and partially sighted voters cast their ballots independently.”
Still, for voters like Sinengela, the question lingers long after the ballots are counted – not whether he voted, but whether he was ever truly free to choose.
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Namibian Sun
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