Many legislative hopefuls are beginning to sniff the stench of failure after Thursday’s elections. The losers are responding not only with a wrinkling of their noses but also with actions suggesting hostility and even mental disturbance.

Voters all across the country cast their ballots Thursday to elect members of Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD), the Regional Representative Council (DPD) and the House of Representatives.

Thousands of candidates joined the race, spending hundreds of millions, and even billions of rupiah in campaigns to win seats. However, the limited number of seats available spelled a bitter ending for most.

Cries of dismay filled the Oebobo subdistrict office in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, last Saturday, after several candidates discovered their failure to win council seats.

“I gave it all I had. I even pawned my land and house, but I didn’t win enough votes to get a seat,” said a candidate who declined to be identified, adding he would demand his campaign team return the money.

Another candidate running for the Kupang legislative council articulated his disappointment by sealing off his well, preventing neighbors from drawing water from it.

“I always did good by them, and yet they didn’t vote for me. So I'd much rather seal off my well and let them find out for themselves how difficult it is to find clean water in Kupang,” he said.

Another candidate appeared to have lost his common sense. He was seen walking around town wearing shorts while talking to himself.

Last Wednesday, the health minister, in anticipation of such cases, ordered the nation’s 32 mental hospitals to put their doctors on alert after the results of the legislative elections were made public.

Kupang General Hospital, for example, has prepared seven extra rooms specifically for unfortunate hopefuls who failed in the elections.

Menur Mental Hospital in Sura-baya, East Java, has allocated a special vehicle for the elections.

“We have dedicated one car to pick up distressed candidates,” hospital director Hendro Riyanto told tempointeraktif.com.

Indonesian Mental Health Network chairman Pandu Setiawan said those suffering stress from failure in the elections were most likely unfit to contest the polls in the first place.

He added the number of losing candidates suffering from mental distress might not be as high as the government had feared.

“As long as the hopefuls are backed by their family, there is little chance they will suffer heavy mental disturbance that requires professional help,”  he said. (dis)

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