Regional Election Law a Huge Blow for Youth Participation in Politics

Fuente: 
Jakarta Globe
Fecha de publicación: 
10 Jun 2016

The newly-approved Regional Election Law has dealt a huge blow for youth participation in politics since it does not recognize signatures of support for independent candidates from backers under twenty years old, Teman Ahok spokeswoman Amalia Ayuningtyas said on Thursday (09/06).

Teman Ahok—a volunteer group which has been helping Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama collect signatures of support and funding for his independent run in the Jakarta governor race next year—said the Regional Election Law discriminates against young voters.

Article 48 of the law stipulates that local polling committees, or KPUD, will only verify signatures of support from voters already registered in the 2014 presidential election and potentially eligible voters whose names are on a list to be provided by the Home Affairs Ministry specifically for the 2017 regional elections.

This means signatures of support from young voters under the age of twenty that Teman Ahok has collected will probably not be recognized by the Jakarta KPUD.

Other Ahok backers who just recently moved to the capital are also in danger of having their support goes unrecognized, Amalia said.

“This is a youth movement with a lot of new voters joining in. They are starting to believe in democracy with Ahok. A lot of them have just graduated from high school and they think with Ahok changes are possible in Jakarta. But now they will find their support means nothing,” Amalia said.

However, Teman Ahok has not calculated the exact number of signatures that will be turned down by the Jakarta KPUD due to the new regulation.

“We will tell you the number once we get a chance to testify in a Constitutional Court hearing. If this requirement is indeed a political trick, then the lawmakers have done a good job at silencing the youth,” Amalia said.

The new Regional Election Law is presenting many stumbling blocks for independent candidates in regional elections, including the requirement to conduct "factual verification" on independent candidate supporters within 14 days after official letters of support are submitted to local polling committees.

The controversial revised law also stipulates that factual verification must be conducted face-to-face.

Jakarta Globe

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/regional-election-law-huge-blow-...