The limitation of voting rights for people with permanent mental disabilities in Indonesia: a debate between reasonable and unreasonable rights

• Main Author: Diastama Anggita Ramadhan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021-01-01
• Series: Cogent Social Sciences
• Subjects: limitation; voting rights; people with permanent mental disabilities; constitutional court; indonesia
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2021.1932032

Voting rights are fundamental rights under Article 28D Paragraphs (1) and (3) as well as Article 28I of the. However, the Indonesian has excluded people with permanent mental disabilities from the right to vote. This article aims to carefully examine whether the Indonesian Constitutional Court’s decision violates the voting rights of people with permanent mental disabilities. The study used hermeneutic and qualitative content analysis to interpret the 1945 Indonesian Constitution and the judges’ considerations on the Constitutional Court Decision Number 135/PUU-XIII/2015. Furthermore, this study examined six countries for comparison concerning unconditional voting rights. This research reveals that the Indonesian Constitutional Court interpreted the law beyond the powers of its authority and violates the voting rights of people with permanent mental disabilities without cogent reasons. The Indonesian government should take measures to facilitate the fulfillment of the voting rights of people with permanent mental disabilities.