Participation of Voters with Disability in 2017 Local Elections in 7 Electoral Areas

In the 2017 Governorship Local Elections in Aceh, Bangka Belitung, Banten, Jakarta Special Capital Region, Gorontalo, West Sulawesi, and West Papua, each of the area has different rate of participation of voters with disability. In two areas, the rate of participation is more than one hundred percent, in three areas the participation is high, while in the other two the participation is low.

In Aceh and Bangka Belitung, the rate of participation from diasbled voters is more than one hundred percent. In Aceh, out of 2.517 registered voters with disability, there are 27.263 disabled voters who voted. In Bangka Belitung, out of 552 registered voters, there are 594 who voted.

In other three areas, Jakarta, Gorontalo, and West Papua, the rate of disabled voters’ participation is high. In Jakarta, the rate of participation is 99,7 percent of total disabled voters. There are 10.228 out of total 10.255 disabled voters who voted in the election. In West Papua, the rate of participation is 97,9 percent. Out of 615 disabled voters, only 13 of them did not vote in the election. In Gorontalo, the rate of participation is 81 percent. There are 854 out of total 1.054 disabled voters who voted.

Meanwhile, in Banten and West Sulawesi the rate of participation from disabled voters is considered as low. In Banten, out of 11.370 total registered disabled voters, only 22.7 percent or 2.585 voters who voted in the election. In West Sulawesi, 38,7 percent of disabled voters did not vote in the election.

According to the Advisor for the Indonesia Disabled Person Association (PPDI), Tolhas Damanik, currently there is no reliable data on the total number of people with disability in Indonesia. As the consequence, the Election Commission is having a difficulty in registering the total number of voters with disability. Tolhas expects the Election Commission will be able to acquire and manage a reliable data on disabled voters in the future.

“We currently do not habe reliable data. The Election Commission only register the total number of disable voters, without categorizing us into proper categories. This category is important so election officials at polling stations can know what kind of facility they have to prepare,” says Tolhas in Jakarta (02/16).