VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Seychelles Association for the Visually Impaired (SABVI) has welcomed the introduction of Braille folders for the upcoming Presidential and National Assembly elections, scheduled for September 25, 26 and 27, 2025, describing it as a moment of history in the country’s democratic process.
Brigitte Lablache, the vice-chairperson of SABVI, congratulated the Electoral Commission of Seychelles (ECS) for ensuring that visually impaired voters can participate in the election with greater independence. The folders arrived together with the ballot papers from the UAE.
Ms Lablache noted that, while the folders cannot carry full candidate names because of the size of Braille letters, they list ‘candidate 1’ and so on, with assistants informing voters of the candidate order. ‘For us it is a great achievement,’ she said, adding that the SABVI will continue to work with the ECS and other partners to remove barriers to full participation for visually impaired citizens.
The introduction of the folders was confirmed by Chief Electoral Officer Manuella Amesbury, who said the initiative would help ensure that no Seychellois is left behind in the electoral process. SABVI and the ECS are expected to continue working together on civic education and accessibility as the country heads into polling day.
