The District Monitoring Committee on Accessible Elections (DMCAE), chaired by Collector Sheik Abdul Rahman, convened here at the Villupuram Collectorate on Sunday.

The committee, comprising Municipal Commissioner, Differently-abled Welfare Officer, Social Welfare Officer, Chief Education Officer, differently-abled persons and non-government volunteers, is commissioned with the task of creating enabling conditions for voting by the differently-abled and to assess the action taken for the same.

Presently, over 18,600 differently-abled persons are registered as voters in the district. Sakshan — a mobile app for the differently-abled has been created by the Election Commission, the Collector said.

The DMCAE discussed the Election Commission guidelines for making polling places more accessible for differently-abled voters, starting with the setting up of ramps in polling centres, transport facilities, allowances for assistants accompanying differently-abled voters at the polling station.

The committee also sought suggestions and recommendations from non-government volunteers and differently-abled persons to make the voting process inclusive.