Election 2024 is still not friendly to people with disabilities

The 2024 General Election still leaves problems for people with disabilities, especially the problem of data collection of voters with disabilities. This causes various administrative and technical obstacles in the election process. In previous elections, the participation of voters with disabilities was also often constrained by the problem of data collection, which until now has not been fully adequate.

“The development of the number of registered persons with disabilities, from 343,865 in the 2014 elections increased to 375,195 in 2019, and jumped dramatically to 1,101,178 in 2024,” said The Indonesian Institute Researcher, Christina Clarissa Intania in an online discussion entitled ‘Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the 2024 Elections’ (20/6).

According to her, the General Election Commission (KPU) as the election organizer has an important role to play in the responsive data collection process, by directly visiting residents in remote areas, and involving various parties to ensure accuracy and justice for persons with disabilities. According to Clarissa, this effort shows KPU’s commitment to increase participation and protect the political rights of persons with disabilities equally throughout Indonesia.

In addition, Clarissa said that the number of people with disabilities who do not yet have identity cards (KTP) is also an obstacle to various public services and civil rights. Another fundamental problem is the perspective of the community, which still considers that people with disabilities are not part of the community.

“This results in social and economic marginalization for this group,” she said.

Furthermore, Clarissa hopes that the Population and Civil Registration Office (Disdukcapil) and the Social Service can ensure that all persons with disabilities can obtain ID cards and other administrative rights without obstacles. To support this, Clarissa said there needs to be special posts and services in each region so that people with disabilities are better facilitated.

Ahead of the 2024 elections, Clarissa also encourages cooperation between the KPU and the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) as well as related governments to ensure that the election process is inclusive and efficient. Especially in terms of voter registration and the provision of facilities that are friendly to people with disabilities.

TII Social Researcher Dewi Rahmawati Aulia added that political participation is a basic right of persons with disabilities that must be guaranteed by the state. Dewi explained that ahead of the 2024 elections, there are still many challenges faced by persons with disabilities to participate in the elections, such as the accessibility of polling stations and the availability of information that is easy to understand.

TII recommends the continuation of socialization and education programs for persons with disabilities, to provide in-depth understanding of political rights and election procedures, and to ensure that persons with disabilities have full access to relevant election information. In addition, training is also needed for election officials to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed when serving people with disabilities.

TII also urges transparency and accountability of the election inclusion program budget, including clear and detailed reporting of budget allocation and use. Dewi assesses that this is important to ensure that resources are truly allocated and used according to the needs of persons with disabilities.

“With these recommendations, we hope to encourage a more inclusive and friendly political environment for all citizens, including those with disabilities,” she hoped.

Meanwhile, Cucu Saidah from Disability Inclusion Advisor Consultant reminded that the involvement of persons with disabilities is not only during the run-up to elections, but is done for the long term. She said that this was because comprehensive evaluation and monitoring were still not effectively carried out by related parties. In addition, Saidah considers that political parties’ efforts to ensure inclusive campaigns for people with disabilities are also not carried out.

“This is an obligation that must be fulfilled to ensure inclusive political education and voting rights,” said Saidah.

Saidah said that stigma and wrong perspectives on people with disabilities must be overcome by changing the rights-based perspective. According to her, it is important to understand and identify the obstacles faced by people with disabilities in accessing information and voting rights. She emphasized that the KPU, Bawaslu, Disdukcapil have a significant role to play in improving the instrument. However, this effort cannot be done only before the election, but must be prolonged.

“To change the perspective to be rights-based, accessibility must be a prerequisite in all election processes, from education about voting rights to the implementation of elections,” concluded Saidah. []