By: Dipo Djungdjungan Siahaan, IFES
KPU Jakarta (Jakarta Election Committee) guarantees an accessible election for persons with disabilities in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election. Sumarno, a member of KPU Jakarta, conveyed this message on Tuesday, 22 May 2012 last week, when AGENDA visited KPU Jakarta office to discuss about accessible election for persons with disabilities.
Sumarno reiterates the importance of accessibility for persons with disabilities for the next election. He says that KPU Jakarta had managed to hold a relatively accessible election in the last Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2007, and he does not intend to lower that standard for the next one. KPU Jakarta has allocated special budget for this purpose, which will be used for, among others, producing helping aid for voters with visual impairment, and also to produce voter educational materials specifically aimed for persons with hearing and visual impairment.
KPU Jakarta also plan to hold socialization events for persons with disabilities. Mastiur, the Head of Technical, Legal and Public Relations Department announces that her division has allocated budget to hold 3 socialization activities for this purpose. She asks AGENDA to help her getting participants for these events. She says AGENDA can send up to 100 participants for each socialization event.
AGENDA welcomes the invitation. Yusidana, Programme Manager from PPCI, says that she hopes that Jakarta election this July will set a good standard for other Southeast Asian Countries to follow.
