Candidates may face health risks after election day

Luh De Suriyani ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Tue, 04/07/2009 2:29 PM  |  Bali

Aditya, a student of public senior high school SMAN 4 in Denpasar was asking female legislative candidates whether they were mentally and physically prepared for the worst circumstances.

"When you are not elected, what would you do next mam?" asked Aditya followed by a roar of laughter.

Aditya attended a recent dialog with 54 women legislative candidates in the city a week ago.

Many candidates were quite shocked to hear such a question while some of them thought it was just a joke from a teenager.

There are 5,056 candidates running for only 399 seats in the provincial and regional legislative councils in Bali. This means that only eight percent of the total candidates could succeed in gaining seats.

I Wayan Wita, a noted cardiologist at Sanglah General Hospital, admitted that a number of candidates have visited his clinic for medical consultations.

"Some patients told me they have had to retire from office in order to run for the legislative election. Many patients looked nervous, but the others remained calm," the doctor said.

Wita had also run at the Bali gubernatorial election last year. He said it was common for any candidate to feel anxious.

"This is very common and it would not be serious unless the patient suffers from acute depression when he fails," he said.

The majority of patients who came to him complained that they felt their hearts beat too fast.

"A number of these candidates admitted that they experienced sleeping disorder, lack of healthy diets and they became physically and emotionally sensitive," Wita commented.

Wita also warned candidates to manage their stress properly.

"Most male candidates chose smoking as their psychological outlet.."

The doctor suggested that the candidates must prevent any possible health problems by conducting regular physical exercise, adequate rest periods after hectic cam-paigning schedules and consume healthy food.

"These would increase their anti-body system, which is badly needed to fight against any disease," he said.

Among the most worrying problems among candidates was money matters.

The huge cost of campaign activities have led many candidates to fall si ck. depression among candidates, especially if they are in debt, said Wita.

"Sometimes the whole family would also have a check up together as the debt would be borne by the whole family."

However, Wita said it was an exaggeration to claim that some mental hospitals in Bali and other provinces have been gearing up to accept any candidate who suffered from mental problems.

"Mental disorder does not appear instantly. The process is gradual," he said.

Ni Ketut Supatmini, a candidate contesting a seat at the Badung Regency Legislative Council, agreed that money was one the main problems for many candidates.

"I tried hard to reduce the cost of my campaign activism," she said.

Alit Kesuma Kelakan, former Bali vice governor, also added each candidate spent quite a lot of money to obtain support from their constituents. People often took advantage from candidates by asking for money and other goods.

"Some candidates persuaded people to vote for them in return for money or other assistance," he said.

Many candidates, he said, felt disappointed when they realized that their money did not have much impact. Some of them became sick, while others suffered from serious depression.

Welcome to the political stage!

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