Ahead of the regional election on June 27, 2018, the issue of voting rights has reemerged as a topic of discussion. It was reported that around 6.7 million voters might be unable to exercise their voting rights.
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Antara/Destyan Sujarwoko
An officer fills in data on a form to match and check the list of electoral voters in one of the houses of residents in Tulungagung, East Java, on Saturday (20/1). The updating of the list of 884,017 voters in the area was conducted simultaneously by the General Elections Commission (KPU) from Jan. 20 to Feb. 18, to be determined as the fixed list of the eligible voters to take part in the upcoming regional elections on June 27.
Voting rights remains an issue here, although Indonesia has held general and regional elections several times.
Ahead of the regional election on June 27, 2018, the issue of voting rights has reemerged as a topic of discussion. It was reported that around 6.7 million voters might be unable to exercise their voting rights, because they have not been issued electronic ID cards. Of the 152,093,310 people on the preliminary voter list (DPS), around 6,678,025 likely do not possess electronic ID cards.
As reported in Kompas on Mar. 21, 2018, General Elections Commission (KPU) member Viryan Aziz said that if potential voters were not registered in the census or did not have e-ID cards by the time the fixed voter list (DPT) was issued on Apr. 13-19, these potential voters would not make it on the list. “The voters’ names must be sorted out before the DPT is issued,” said Viryan.
Such a legali viewpoint was fine. But, the sorting the voters could trigger other problems. Voting rights is guaranteed under the Constitution; it is the constitutional right of all citizens.
In its ruling on July 6, 2009, the Constitutional Court stated that printed ID cards could be used as a citizen’s proof of eligibility to exercise their right to vote. The ruling guarantees the voting rights of citizens who were not on the fixed voter list (DPT). The court argued that administrative matters should not supersede voting rights. The court’s ruling was issued two days before voting day for the presidential election on July 8, 2009 (Kompas, July 7, 2009).
Kompas/Wisnu Widiantoro
An officer of the Committee for Updating Data of Voters for the Elections of Governor and Deputy Governor of Papua conducts inventory of voter data at the home of one of the residents in Kampung Ewer, Asmat regency, Papua, on Monday (22/1). The process of updating the data is for matching and checking the fixed list of eligible voters.
We hope the Home Ministry will anticipate the potential loss of the voting rights of 6.7 million citizens. The ministry should have data on the whereabouts of citizens who do not possess e-ID cards or whose data has not been recorded on the census. The ministry and the regional administration must take the initiative to resolve this issue. Yet, we also call on those voters who do not have e-ID cards or whose data has not been recorded to be proactive in registering.
We do not want voting rights to be denied for administrative reasons. This is a classic problem ahead of the elections – general or regional. Nevertheless, the problem remains unresolved. The voting rights issue is a sensitive one that could be used by the candidates and could eventually affect the credibility of the elections. We expect the Home Ministry, with its infrastructure, to take the necessary steps to guarantee the voting rights for all citizens during the regional elections or the 2019 general election. The problems on the possession of e-ID cards should be resolved.
Do not allow administrative matters to cause citizens to lose their right to vote. The situation calls to mind the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said: “If we cannot secure all our rights, let us secure what we can.” The government can guarantee voting rights.
