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From floods to love hearts, Indonesians cast their votes on Valentine’s Day
Voting day saw voters brave floods to cast their votes in several regions, while others were greeted by Valentine's Day-theme decorations during the world's largest single-day election.
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A poll worker prepares Valentine's Day-themed decoration at a polling station in Banjar Tunjung Sari, Denpasar, Bali on Feb. 13, 2024. The local poll administrators (KPPS) decorate the polling station with Valentine's Day-themed decorations to woo voters to cast their vote in the 2024 general election. (Antara/Fikri Yusuf)
Indonesians came out in their millions on Wednesday to decide who will succeed President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, on an election day filled with flooding, first-time voters and Valentine’s Day-themed polling stations.
The country held the world’s largest single-day election, where voters across the country simultaneously voted on their preferred presidential, as well as national and regional legislative, candidates.
But voting day was not without its hurdles as extreme weather led to numerous polling stations being inundated on Wednesday.
Among the affected stations was one in Larangan district, Tangerang, Banten, where poll workers had to be evacuated to a nearby musholla (prayer room), voting took place after an hour’s delay.
Heavy flooding in Demak regency, Central Java, also forced election authorities to postpone voting in the region. The floods, inundating at least 10 villages in the regency, were triggered by a week-long torrential downpour, forcing around 20,000 residents to take refuge in emergency shelters.
“[We decided] to postpone because these polling stations are under 3 meters of water on average,” said Siti Ulfaat, the head of Demak Elections Commission (KPU), as quoted by kompas.com.
Prevailing regulations state that regions impacted by natural disasters are allowed to postpone voting by up to 10 days.
