The gender quota, the electoral system and women's representation in Indonesia: case studies of two district parliaments

Abstract

For the 2009 elections, Indonesia implemented a gender quota provision that required political parties to have one woman for every three candidates on party lists. The quota was designed for a semi-open list electoral system where elected candidates are determined by their rank of order on party lists. However, just months before the 2009 elections, the Constitutional Court overturned the formula for electoral victory, transforming Indonesia’s electoral system from using semi-open party lists to (fully) open party lists.

This study investigates how the gender quota was implemented and how the Constitutional Court’s decision impacted on women’s representation in the Bantul and Yogyakarta City district parliaments. It asks what is the role of the women’s movement in promoting gender quotas, as well as in the investigating the socioeconomic and cultural factors that influenced the success and failure of women candidates in the two selected districts.

Data collection for this research was done through one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions with women candidates and a series of interviews with Electoral Commission members, political party leaders, women’s organisations and a judge of the Constitutional Court in Jakarta. Secondary data was collected from the Electoral Commission, online literature and from other organisations.

This study found that while the Indonesian women’s movement worked effectively with Government agencies and women politicians to legislate the gender quota, they were unable to persuade the Constitutional Court of the importance of the semi-open list system for increasing women’s representation. The research also found that political parties that act as gatekeepers for the recruitment, selection and placement of candidates on party lists, and as such, play a pivotal role in the successful implementation of the gender quota, treated the gender quota as a tick-a-box exercise. Additionally, a lack of meaningful sanctions meant that parties, primarily large and established parties more likely to achieve the electoral quotient and have candidates elected, were able to campaign in the elections even though they had not met the quota. This study found that Constitutional Court’s decision itself did not significantly decrease the proportion of women in parliament, but it did make the campaign very costly and difficult for women, particularly those with domestic responsibilities and limited financial resources.

This research concludes that the Constitutional Court’s decision to change the formula for electoral victory combined with the lack of meaningful sanctions resulted in the gender quota losing its effectiveness. In order for Indonesia to meet its international obligations to advance women’s political rights, Indonesia’s gender quota needs to be modified to suit the new open list system. This needs to be combined with an increased commitment from political parties to gender equality, increased resources and support for women candidates and voter education. Show more