Over 100 Indonesian election workers die in 2024 polls; observers call for change of single-day format

NO PAUSE TO AVOID SUSPICION

Before 2019, the presidential and legislative elections were held separately, Mr Heroik said.

After the first single-day elections that year, Gadjah Mada University conducted a study that showed KPPS members working an average of 20 to 22 hours on polling day, he said.

There is no pause in the voting and counting process to avoid suspicion and allegations of fraud, Mr Heroik explained. “This resulted in a high workload, so (workers) were exhausted and fell ill.”

The lower death toll this year is due to changes made since 2019, Indonesia’s health ministry said. “We conducted an evaluation that resulted in the death rate being reduced by more than 70 per cent, compared to the previous election,” ministry spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said.

This year, the government capped the age of election workers at 55, and conducted health screening for them. According to news outlet Jakarta Post, a reason for 2019’s death toll was the number of elderly poll workers and those who had pre-existing health issues.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin acknowledged that there is more room for improvement, such as in health screening, the Jakarta Post reported.

Mr Fahmi and another KPPS officer, Mr Andri Maulana, said they were given vitamins to fortify themselves for polling day. But the workload was simply too heavy.

Mr Andri, who was at a polling station in Bekasi in West Java, began work at 7am on Feb 14 and continued until 9am the following day.

“In my area, some only finished at 12 noon,” he said. “We were exhausted due to lack of sleep and the complexity of counting … If we miscounted, we had to start all over again.”

He added: “In my opinion, the salary (of IDR1.2 million, or US$77) was not commensurate with the workload.”

KPPS officers, who are all paid volunteers, received IDR1.1 million to 1.2 million for their work.

According to Indonesia’s finance ministry regulations, families of KPPS officers who died will receive compensation of IDR36 million and help with funeral costs amounting to IDR10 million.