TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Many trans women have lost their right to vote as they do not have an electronic ID card. They are often faced with challenges to obtain citizenship documents. 

The trans woman group is often sidelined in every general election. Many are left worried as they lose their political rights. They encountered various obstacles to conveying their right to vote, starting from difficulties in obtaining citizenship documents.

People’s genders are categorized into two, men and women, in the citizenship documents. This is the main issue faced by trans women as their gender role nearly never gets public recognition, both socially and politically.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) Commissioner Betty Epsilon Idroos on September 13 said that Law No.7/2017 which oversees general elections actually does not discriminate against voters’ gender as long as everything complies with the provisions. “We are unable to veer off from the corridor that is mentioned in the regulations,” said Betty.

This interview is the first part of a series of special reporting between Koran Tempo and Jaring.id that covers the issue of trans women and politics in Indonesia. This project is realized with the support of the Indonesian Association for Media Development (PPMN) and the Asia-Pacific Regional Support for Elections and Political Transitions (RESPECT). This collaboration also involved the Philippines Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and Lafaek News (Timor Leste).

How does the KPU map out voter participation among trans women?

Trans women or transgender people are Indonesian citizens. As long as they are 17 years old or have ever been married, we categorize them as voters. All these requirements are proven by the ownership of an electronic ID card.

We have no problems in mapping them as voters as long as they have an ID card. This is because they must contain 12 elements that are available for us to categorize as voters during the process of matching and researching.

Next, in the process of segmenting the people as targeted voters, one segmentation is the marginal group. Trans women are part of an aspect that needs to be approached. The goal is that they become commendable voters. In addition, they will receive information about when the voting day is, what kind of ballot they would find, as well as the correct voting mechanism. At least, it fulfills the one person, one vote, one value system.

It is also necessary to explain the categorization, of when they become permanent voters, transfer voters, or special voters. Based on my experience, they are still part of the segmentation to get voters’ dissemination and education. 

There are complaints of this group being targeted for discrimination, and difficulties in obtaining an ID Card. How does the KPU assist them in meeting voters’ requirements? 

When the PPDP (voters data updating officers) do the field matching and researching, they found cases where Indonesian citizens who do not own an electronic ID card but had recorded their identity, the data could still be found. But if you have never recorded [citizenship data], it can be used as feedback data. The findings in the field will be submitted to the Home Affairs Ministry. The goal is that the recording of these citizens is being implemented.

As far as we know, the Home Affairs Ministry actively seeks feedback in data from institutions like us, both from the provincial KPU and the regency/city KPU. We can support the Ministry of Home Affairs to record the relevant data so later they can come directly to the village or KPU office for assistance because the recording process is very important. As users of electronic ID cards, we need to synchronize the electronic ID card with our SIAK (Population Administration Information System) data.

If a citizen just realized an ID Card is a requirement to vote on the election day, meanwhile they are not equipped with one or have never recorded their data, are they still facilitated to vote?

The KPU can work in accordance with statutory provisions. We have three voters’ data as options on polling day. First, registered on the finals voters’ list. Now the principle is de jure. We register them according to the address listed on the electronic ID card, so they are on our final voters’ list (DPT).

Secondly, they are in our DPT, but when voters register for a transfer to voting, they have to fill out an A5 form (an eligibility letter to vote elsewhere). The treatment is the same as the DPT. But if a new voter is caught on D-day and is not registered in the DPT, the evidence based on the Election Law is only to show an identity according to the address listed on the electronic ID card. We can't get out of the corridor as stated in the rules. What can be done now is to encourage people who have not yet had their ID cards recorded to come to the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration and have their data recorded.

What are the obstacles faced by the KPU to embrace marginalized groups such as trans women?

This is our experience when we come to them. Their working hours are different. We once came on the weekends and gathered them in one place. The main complaint is that they are unaware whether they have been registered (as voters) or not. If they are registered, what are their rights and obligations as voters? They also want to know who to vote for.

This is actually the activity of election participants to convince voters in election activities throughout the campaign period. The definition of a campaign is, after all, spreading [a candidate’s] vision and mission so members of the public, including trans women or transgender people, are willing to use their rights to vote. 

They do not know who to vote for. All they know is likely the presidential election. Even though there are elections for legislators, and regional legislations, except for the Jakarta gubernatorial election.

Another frequently asked question is the voting mechanism. We tell them how the ballot is valid. I think there are no problems in the field. They still get served.