All Indonesian citizens who are over 17 years old will be given the right to vote which can be used in the general election to choose one candidate of their choice. All means including people with disabilities who also have the same rights in the democratic party. In order to accommodate and ensure that people with disabilities get their right to vote, the West Papua Province General Election Supervisory Body held a socialization activity to strengthen the understanding of supervision of the general election for people with disabilities. The event was held in Manokwari last September. People with disabilities will be re-registered and ensured to be registered on the Permanent Voter List so that in November they can use their right to vote in the simultaneous regional head elections.
The Association of Indonesian Women with Disabilities of West Papua Province was one of the groups present at the socialization activity. The head of the association, Sherly Perinusa Siagian, expressed her gratitude to the General Election Supervisory Body for being willing to educate people with disabilities to be able to contribute to the general election process. In addition, appreciation was also given to the speakers who participated in providing understanding to people with disabilities so that they can jointly understand further and supervise the general election process from the campaign period to the election time.
The West Papua Provincial Election Supervisory Agency and the West Papua Province Indonesian Women with Disabilities Association are working together to ensure that people with disabilities are registered on the Permanent Voter List. So far, there has been a difference in data that has been recorded by the General Election Commission, namely that there are 217 voters with disabilities, but the data held by the Indonesian Women with Disabilities Association is 300 people. So there needs to be a re-registration for people with disabilities who are not yet registered on the Permanent Voter List held by the General Election Commission. The difference in data is one of the obstacles that is expected to be resolved immediately after the socialization and education event and understanding of the general election for people with disabilities is completed.
The Coordinator of the Prevention, Community Participation, and Public Relations Division of the West Papua Provincial Election Supervisory Agency, Menahen Sabarofek, guarantees the existence of political rights including the right to vote that must be held by people with disabilities during the general election. Therefore, there needs to be a follow-up activity after the socialization of education and understanding of general elections for people with disabilities.
The hope of the community, especially people with disabilities represented by the management of the Indonesian Women with Disabilities Association of the Province of Southwest Papua, is that all parties can play a role in the ongoing democratic party. The role of people with disabilities is also considered, especially in terms of fulfilling political rights, namely the right to vote and can also be included in the process of supervising general elections that take place directly, generally, freely, secretly, honestly, and fairly.