Women activists have raised concern on the ineffectiveness of the 30 percent quota for female representatives in the legislature since political parties failing to adhere to the quota were not bound by fines.
Women Research Institute researcher Aisah Putri Budiarti said that in the latest general elections some parties did not adhere to the quota. She cited the United Development Party (PPP) with 28 percent and the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Greater Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra), both with 29 percent.
“To make the quota work properly, political parties that cannot attain the quota should be banned from the election,” she said.
She said that the decision by the Constitutional Court to cancel the electoral ranking system and use
the majority vote system did not reduce the number of women in the legislature.
“Women can compete with men in any general election system.”
The number of female legislators in the House of Representatives increased to 101 or 18 percent of all seats for the 2009-2014 period from 63 or 11 percent in the 2004-2009 period.
“This proves that women can compete with men in any general election system,” said Aisah.
She added that to boost female representation in the legislature, the majority vote electoral system should be combined with a policy of reserving 30 percent of seats for women.
Nurul Arifin, a House of Representatives member from the Golkar Party, warned, however, that such a policy could intensify internal conflict among legislative candidates within political parties.
“It could lead to negative campaigns designed to quash the chances of other candidates,” she said.
She said that to increase women representation, there should be more women on political parties’ national executive boards, since it was easier for board members to become legislators.
Both Aisah Putri Budiarti and Nurul Arifin acknowledged that despite efforts to boost female representation, societal constraints remained, especially in regions.
Chusnul Mar’iyah, former national General Election Commission member, said that parties tended to place female candidates in areas where they had few supporters.
“So it is almost impossible for them to win an election,” she said.A political analyst, founder of www.pemilu.asia, Kevin Evans, said that female candidates also faced discrimination in society.
“Once women are involved in politics they must work late into the night leaving themselves vulnerable to judgement by their neighbors who see them arrive home late,” he said.He also urged political parties to empower their women constituents, because according to research by the Women Research Institute, they showed higher loyalty to certain political parties or candidates than men.
“Female voters are less likely to be influenced by bribes money from other political parties or candidates,” he said. (rdf)
