The Election Commission (EC) has opened registration for visually impaired voters to vote without assistance in the upcoming Parliament elections.

EC Vice President Ismail Habib said in a post on X on Sunday night that people with visual impairments can register themselves to vote without the help of anyone else.

"In order to make arrangements for people with visual disabilities to cast their votes, the EC has requested those who wish to cast their vote using the template to contact 1414 and register themselves between Sunday, January 21 and February 6, 2024," Habib said.

Habib said the 1414 service will be available from 0800hrs to 2200hrs on official days, from 0900hrs to 2200hrs on official holidays and from 1500hrs to 1800hrs on Fridays.

The EC had earlier said that 45 people had cast their votes in the first round of elections using a special template for the blind. This was the first election in which visually impaired people were allowed to vote on their own with the amendment to the General Election Act, and a special template was used for voting.

According to the EC, the template reserved for differently-abled persons is a small ball with emboss or on paper and the number of candidate numbers for each candidate can be ascertained from this template.

The General Law on Elections was passed to allow people who are visually impaired to vote in elections. The main purpose of this amendment is to allow people who have lost their eyesight to mark themselves on the ballot paper without the help of anyone else.