Universal suffrage or voting rights for all citizens regardless of gender, property ownership and skin color is not something that is given voluntarily by the authorities. It was fought by civilians for a long time. The historical portrait of the right to vote is summarized in the Virtual Class for Elections of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), Monday (4/27), following the contextualization of Indonesia.
Universal suffrage does not come by itself
When democracy was practiced in the ancient Greek civilization, the general view that was believed was that voters must be people who have knowledge and wisdom in order to be able to elect qualified representatives. Based on that belief, only men with property are allowed to vote. Men without property and women are not given the right to vote.
"Those who voted must be selected to prevent the election results from being damaged," said Deputy Executive Director of Perludem, Khoirunnisa Nur Agustiyati.
Partial suffrage was still in effect when elections were held in France and the United States. The films Iron Jawed Angels (2004) and Suffragette (2015) can be referred to see to the struggle for women's suffrage.
"The struggle is very long, there is often bloodshed," said Khoirunnisa.
The struggle only resulted in victory when women in the state of Tennessee got their right to vote on August 18, 1920, which was followed later by other states.
Before the United States, women's suffrage was enforced in 1893 in New Zealand, 1907 in Finland, and 1913 in Norway. Meanwhile, later than other countries, countries in the Middle East only in 2015 gave the right to vote for women.
“New Zealand, which was once a colony, in 1893 has become a self-government country, separated from the colonial state. Well, at that time there was an assumption that if you want to improve the quality of life of women, women must also have the right to vote in elections,” explained Khoirunnisa.
Later than women's suffrage, suffrage for black citizens was only granted in 1965 in the United States, and 1994 in South Africa.
Voting Rights Guarantee
The universal suffrage is guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 21 paragraph (3) states that the will of the people must be the basis of government power, and this will must be expressed in general elections which are held periodically and purely, with general and equal voting rights, by secret ballot or by other procedures guarantee freedom of speech.
In Indonesia, the guarantee of universal suffrage is regulated in Articles 27 and 28 of the 1945 Constitution. Article 27 paragraph (1) states that all citizens have the same position in law and government and are obliged to uphold the law and government without any exception.
The guarantee is even mentioned in Article 43 of Law No.39/1999 on Human Rights. Paragraph (1) of the article reads: "Every citizen has the right to be elected and to vote in general elections based on equal rights through direct, general, free, secret, honest and fair voting in accordance with the provisions of the legislation."
Voting Rights Requirements
In general, each country applies a voting age requirement. From data published by aceproject.com, 208 countries set a minimum voting age of 18 years. 9 countries 16 years. 3 countries 17 years. 2 countries 19 years. 4 countries 20 years. 6 countries 21 years.
“16 years for example Argentina, Austria, Nicaragua, Cuba. 17 years, for example Indonesia, North Korea. 18 years old, this is almost half the countries in the world, yes, there are Afghanistan, Austria, Belgium, Germany. 19 years old is South Korea, Malaysia. 20 years for example Bahrain, Taiwan. 21 years in Kuwait, Oman, Singapore," said Khoirunnisa.
The age requirement for voting in Indonesia was originally in the 1955 General Election, which was at least 18 years old. The 17-year requirement was then applied since the 1971 general election.
In addition to the age requirement, Indonesia also applies conditions that have been or have been married to date, has imposed revocation of voting rights for former members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) or involved in the September 30, 1965 Movement (G-30S) during the New Order, and did not give the right to vote for people who are mentally disturbed or have lost their memories.
The rules for revocation of voting rights for PKI members or those involved in the movement have ceased to apply since the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) on the judicial review of Article 60 of Law No. 12/2003. The Constitutional Court stated that the revocation of the right to vote for these people was contrary to human rights (HAM) guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution and was not in line with the reconciliation process.
Likewise with the requirement of not mentally or memory disturbed. Perludem and Perkumpulan Jiwa Sehat (PJS) challenged the rule to the Constitutional Court and it was granted. Mental disorders or mental disabilities have different severity and many types. Some types of mental disorders are periodic.
"Explanations from experts, that people who are mentally disturbed there are many spectrums. Starting from bipolar, schizophrenia, and many more. The disturbance is also periodic, not permanent. If the treatment is done properly, the pain can disappear so you can vote. So, the same with people with diabetes. If you are given medication to lower insulin levels, the diabetes will not relapse," explained Khoirunnisa.
Perludem together with Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia [Indonesian Women's Coalition] (KPI) also challenged the voting requirements to have or have been married. This requirement is considered to legalize child marriage and provide incentives for child marriage. But unlike before, the Court has a different view
“The Court's approach is the Population Law. The Constitutional Court also views marriage as a sign of one's maturity," she concluded.
Perludem researcher, Usep Hasan Sadikin, mentioned that the history of universal suffrage and efforts to create inclusiveness of suffrage were the result of the struggle of civil society, especially women. The first wave of the women's movement demanded universal suffrage. And in the Indonesian context, the challenge for voters with mental disabilities to get the right to vote was led by a female leader of the organization, namely Yeni Rosa Damayanti, Chair of PJS.
“The first wave of the women's movement was very election. Those who seek more inclusive elections are also female friends. Mental disability suffrage, Perludem with Rosa Damayanti, PJS leader. Then (the effort to remove the marriage requirement) are also female friends," said Usep.
