Active participation in general election is still a challenge for persons with disabilities in various countries in the world, including Indonesia. In general, it can be said that the turn out of persons with disabilities is always much lower than that of other groups who do not experience physical deprivation.

Persons with disabilities still face various obstacles to fully participating in voting.
The chance to be involved in political activities is a fundamental condition that must exist in a country with a democratic system, including persons with disabilities. This opportunity includes not only voting, but also the right to be elected and represent citizens of other countries and to be involved in electoral bodies.

The right to participate in political activities for persons with disabilities is firmly codified in various international, regional and national laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) since2006, as stated in Article 29 ” [ to give] guarantee the persons with disabilities political rights and the opportunity to enjoy them on an equal basis with others”.

This project is part of an Empowerment Accelerator pilot grant. These grants are for previous Empowerment grantees that would like to deepen and/or continue their empowerment journey. Learnings from the previous project from Perkumpulan Inisiatif in implementing the Youth with Disability Leadership Programme (YwLDP), which reached 100 youth with disabilities and 100 individuals non-disability through research on political opportunity structures are used as a baseline for information.

This project also involves two organisations of persons with disabilities (DPO), namely the Disabilitas Bergerak Indonesia (DBI) and the Disability Access Voter Center (PPUA) along with two electoral institutions in Bandung City.

Political literacy for youth with disabilities 

In a democratic country, voting in general elections is a basic right for all citizens. As a result, it is the government’s duty to ensure that all segments of society have equal access to participate in elections. However, the person with disabilities continues to face challenges in participating in elections worldwide, including in Indonesia. These individuals encounter numerous barriers that prevent them from fully engaging in the voting process.  

From the observation of the West Java Disability Access Election Center (PPUA), the main partner of the Perkumpulan Inisiatif, the people with disabilities was still low in socialization reach, in the open debate the regional head candidate pairs did accommodate the issue of inclusiveness, access to voting place, and get voting but being provided by assistants, and there is intervention from assistants to choose one candidate pair. Another fact in the field is that not a few families cover the existence of disabilities from one of their family members. In particular, it appeared when the voter data collection, the family with a closed company, even seemed to abolish the political rights of children with disabilities, and on election day, the family was present without inviting their children.  

Perkumpulan Inisiatif focuses on the Violet project and aims to create a channel for information and political learning for youth with disabilities about their political rights. It is also important to provide learning media to increase the political awareness of young with disabilities of their political rights. In addition, to live in a society with inherent specialness, we need recognition not only from authorities but also from the closest ones such as the support of a society that is aware and critical and treats other citizens equally without marginalizing the abilities of someone with a disability. 

As time goes during the project implementation, the critical discourse and messages about political rights for vulnerable groups started to be taken seriously by rightholders and attracted the attention of policymakers to start providing opportunities for involvement from disability groups. One of the achievements is building rightsholder capacity and changing practices, using research tools to identify current issues. Political literacy as a guide for exercising political rights, which is not just voting and being elected, but also boosting the confidence of young people with disabilities in expressing their aspirations is also the main significant change in the project.  

The Violet project intervention has not directly improved the quality of life for the rightsholders. Instead, its focuses on transforming the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of young people with disabilities, supporting them to overcome insecurity and anxiety when expressing their challenges in daily life. It is because the challenges sometimes come from their closest circle such as parents and teachers where they feel fear, anxious, and excessive worry that the youth with disabilities are not able to get political literacy. Therefore, their closest circle also gets the fundamental knowledge that requires openness of views and attitudes. 

Empathy and patience are crucial in this process. The support from family and teachers is also important especially the openness to learn.  

​“YCAI” (Cahaya Inklusi Indonesia Foundation) gave voice regarding the political rights of youth with disabilities, through the local television media Kompas TV in the “Sapa Jabar” program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTppOpv23Z0 , which was seen and heard by 54.6 thousand viewers.