Surabaya - The absence of Braille ballot paper templates for the election of DPR (House of Representatives) and DPRD (Regional House of Representatives) members could lead to the votes of visually impaired voters being vulnerable to theft. This is because the General Election Commission (KPU) only provides ballot paper templates for the election of DPD (Regional Representative Council) members on April 9th.
Visually impaired voters will be accompanied by KPPS (Polling Station Working Committee) members when casting their votes. In this process, KPPS officers could easily direct voters to choose a party or candidate who has coordinated with the KPPS officers. Former East Java KPU member, Agus Mahfudz Fauzi, asserted that if visually impaired voters are accompanied by KPPS members when casting their votes, then there is no secrecy of the vote in this situation.
Such a process violates the principles of election implementation, namely direct, free, secret, honest, and fair.
"For this democratic process to run according to the rules, election organizers must immediately create policies to facilitate the logistical needs of people with disabilities. Otherwise, the 2014 election is threatened with legal flaws because its principles are violated," he emphasized. Agus explained that the KPU only provides templates for DPD RI candidate ballots.
According to him, this is voter discrimination because it does not accommodate all segments of society.
"The Indonesian KPU should not make many excuses. This is also to reduce the number of abstentions (golput)," he elaborated. It is known that based on data from SIGAP, an organization for people with disabilities in East Java, there are at least 38,000 visually impaired people. If there are no Braille templates for the visually impaired, the abstention rate could be high.
Meanwhile, Eko Sasmito, Chairman of the East Java KPU, explained that voting rights are not classified for the healthy or the sick. However, according to him, there will be Braille templates for people with disabilities. It's just that technically there has been no coordination with the Indonesian KPU yet.
"There will be a template later. But regarding the technical aspects, I still don't know. So far, it's still being coordinated with the Indonesian KPU," he concluded briefly. This country has implemented a direct election system for two election periods. Ideally, this experience should serve as a lesson for better elections. Even among KPU officials themselves, the issue of accessible elections has not been well socialized.
Hindering someone's right to vote due to the system can be considered a human rights violation. The state, as a protector, does not guarantee the voting rights of visually impaired voters. Hopefully, there will be decisive follow-up on this matter.(DPM) Source: Jaring News