TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The General Elections Commission’s (KPU) Regulation No. 10/2023 regarding the nomination of members of the House of Representatives (DPR), Provincial Representatives Council, and Regency/City Representatives Council drew protests from the women’s movement activists and election monitoring organizations. The catalyst was Article 8 Clause 2 which stipulates rounding off the total number of prospective female legislative candidates of each constituency resulting in lower representation of women in the 2024 general elections.

Law No. 7/2017 on General Elections says that at least 30 percent of the legislative candidate list should be women. The new KPU regulation states that if the female quota calculation results in a fractional number, the two decimals should be rounded down if it is less than 50 and rounded up if it is 50 or more. For instance, if the total number is four, then 30 percent of it is 1.2 which should be rounded down to one.

An activist with Masyarakat Peduli Keterwakilan Perempuan, a women's representation advocacy community, Valentina Sagala, feels that the new KPU regulation will hinder the realization of the 30 percent representation. “We must not take it easy,” she told Tempo reporters early this month.

Protests from the women’s movement and election activists almost compelled the KPU to revise the regulation and the commission conveyed this intention during a press conference on May 10. However, it changed its mind after a hearing with the DPR on May 17.

When their protests went unheeded, Masyarakat Peduli Keterwakilan Perempuan filed a petition for a judicial review of the regulation at the Supreme Court on June 5. Valentina, the founder of the Women’s Institute, said, “Clause 2 of Article 8 contradicts the 1945 Constitution, the General Election Law, and the Law No. 7/1984 regarding ratification of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women).”

How crucial is the impact of this new KPU regulation?

The women’s movement was behind the push for reform and one of the implications is the amendments of the 1945 Constitution, one of which is Article 28 H Clause 2 which says that everyone has the right to ease and special treatment to receive equal opportunities and benefits. Laypersons interpret this article as affirmative action.
One of the well-known legal instruments of the United Nations for human rights matters is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women which Indonesia has ratified through Law No. 7/1994. CEDAW obligates its members including Indonesia to ascertain that there is no discrimination against women and to strive for gender equality in various fields including politics. That is what the women’s movement is fighting for in the Election Law to ensure 30 percent representation of women.

Where did the number come from?

There were several options when the Election Law was drafted (2004). The highest quota for women candidates was 50 percent. Then it became 30 percent but under a system more suitable for the law. So, (the stipulation) is not in the KPU regulation because we chose 30 percent from the options of 20 percent to 50 percent. Ideally, it should be 50 percent because the total female population is 50 percent.

What is the impact of the KPU regulation?

Mathematically, constituencies with total legislative candidates of 4, 7, 8, and 11 will have problems. A constituency with four candidates, for example, will have 1.2 female candidates. Then it will come to only one candidate (after rounding down). Consequently, (the total number of female candidates) will be less than 30 percent. In a hearing (with the DPR and KPU on May 17), the DPR assured that there wouldn’t be any problem (with the regulation) because nationally the total number would still be 30 percent. In Article 245 of Law No. 7 /2017 on General Election, the 30 percent mandate is for each electoral district, not for the national total.

<!--more-->

Weren’t there familiarization sessions when the KPU drafted the regulation?

The draft that was used (in familiarization) was different. It was like ‘the tobacco article’. It shows that our homework is never done when we overhaul and fight for a law. This is a very important lesson. We must not take it easy. Democracy doesn’t come for free.

What has been done by the women’s group?

Initially, we protested the KPU. When the KPU said they wouldn’t change it, we went to the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) on May 9 and urged them to issue a recommendation to the KPU to immediately revise the regulation. On May 10, the KPU said at a press conference that it would revise it. They (seemed to) realize their mistake.

But the KPU changed its stance after meeting with the DPR.

The Constitution Court has issued a ruling concerning the consultation between the KPU and DPR in drafting KPU regulations which states that the result of the consultation is not binding because the KPU is an independent institution. So, even if DPR members disagree, the KPU should still carry out what it announced to the public on May 10.

Political parties don’t have sufficient female candidates?

I did make sure to my women friends in politics. There are two groups, namely the Women’s Political Caucus and Women Parliamentarian’s Caucus. They assured that the parties committed to the women's representation matter could certainly fulfill the women's quota as long as they are prepared. It will be odd if they (the parties) suddenly create a narrative that they can no longer do it if there’s another regulation change.

Are there enough women legislative candidates to fill the 30 percent quota?

If they are not prepared, the parties must find new people. It’s strange if that narrative is used. It’s as if parties are asking for pity because they are afraid of not making it through the verification process due to the 30 percent quota. During the 1998 Reformasi, women made up 9 percent of total legislative members. Only in the 2004 general elections, did it increase to 14 percent and then to 18.4 percent in 2009. It rose slowly. Then it went down to 17.6 percent in 2014 and up again to 20.52 percent now. We’ve never achieved 30 percent throughout the 25 years of the post-Reformasi journey. So, it’s not really good yet.

Read the Full Interview in Tempo English Magazine

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News