People should be able to participate freely and without any discrimination in the 2018 General Election.

Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission Director Ashwin Raj says that village headmen, political party leaders, unionists and religious leaders have a lot of influence on people in their communities.

He says that these leaders in no way should dictate their preferences on who they should and should not vote for.

“It is imperative that that does not prejudice the way people exercise their fundamental right to vote”

Raj says people need to be allowed a free and fair election.