Back in March, a survey by the CSIS showed that at least 7 percent or 13 million people preferred to go on holiday during election week, meaning they would forgo voting.

However, on election day voters flocked to polling stations. They felt the need to take a break from what some considered a “noisy” campaign only after fulfilling their rights as citizens.

Kiki Risna, 35, a civil servant at the Finance Ministry, said she hoped to relax in her hometown of Yogyakarta after election day, which falls a day prior to Good Friday, especially as some from her circle had campaigned heavily for their favored candidates.

“It was quite tiring. I had to mute some group chats and post no comments,” she said.

She said the chat groups of her alumni group from the Indonesian Islamic University in Yogyakarta were rowdy during the campaign, so she refrained from commenting.

Kiki added there were political differences among her relatives. “But we are ok. This morning we went too the polling station together,” she said.

After casting her votes, she will take the train to Yogyakarta on Wednesday evening for a short vacation before returning to her office next week.

“I don’t think I will go anywhere [in Yogyakarta]. I’ll drive my mom to pengajian (Islamic learning forum) or the market as she was ill recently. Other than that, I probably will go to cute coffee shops in Yogya while meeting my old college friends,” she said.

Meanwhile, 27-year-old Dimas Paraditya who works at a company in Jakarta took a day off to go to his hometown of Bandung, West Java, to vote.

“I departed for Bandung at 4 p.m. when I finished work yesterday. I arrived at 10 p.m. because of traffic jams on the toll roads. Maybe a lot of people went home to vote as well,” Dimas said.

According to Philips J. Vermonte, executive director of the CSIS, the high voter turnout was because of the massive campaign calling on people to vote.

“We saw a lot of campaigns calling on people not to go on holiday [on election day]. That probably affected some of them,” he said.

Dimas said he did not plan much for his days off. “I think I will take my parents around for a drive and rest at home before returning to Jakarta on Friday,” he said, adding that he needed to work during the weekend.

He said the campaign was not hard to deal with as his friends were not too noisy about the elections. “My family doesn’t spread many hoaxes,” Dimas added.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Miftha Aulia Rezkiany of Kayu Manis, Matraman, East Jakarta, who studies at Pasundan University in Bandung, West Java, said she initially did not think she would be able to return home to vote as the trains were full.

However, after learning state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia operational region 1 Jakarta had added 11 inter-city trips, she booked a ticket to Bandung for Sunday.

The 11 train trips that provide 5,512 extra seats began operating on Monday and will run until Sunday. Of the 11 routes, eight depart from Gambir Station while three depart from Pasar Senen Station in Central Jakarta.

“[The trains head from Jakarta] to Bandung and Cirebon in West Java, Kutoarjo and Solo in Central Java and Yogyakarta,” KAI Regional Operation 1 spokesperson Eva Chairunisa said.

KAI has added more trips, city-owned bus operator Transjakarta will reduce operations. The company will deploy 1,300 buses, half the number the company owns.

Transjakarta operational director Daud Joseph said only 55 to 60 percent of passenger numbers during working days were seen during the previous election.

The recently opened MRT Jakarta was packed with Jakartans trying out the MRT after casting their votes, as it operated normally from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

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