The survey was conducted from Sept. 24 to 30, involving 1,200 respondents from across the nation. 

“As many as 50.3 percent of all respondents said that they wanted leader candidates who had violated the health protocols to be disqualified [from the race],” Indikator Politik Indonesia chairman Burhanuddin Muhtadi said in virtual press conference on Sunday as quoted by kompas.com.

Furthermore, 8.4 percent of respondents wanted regional leaders who violated health protocols to receive jail time. 

The survey also revealed that 18.2 percent of respondents wanted violators to be banned from campaign activities, while 16.7 percent wanted them to pay fines.

In regard to the 2020 regional elections, 14.8 percent of respondents said that they strongly agreed that the event carried a high risk of virus transmission, while 68.7 percent agreed and 11.1 percent disagreed.

In terms of campaign arrangements, 45.5 percent of respondents said they wanted polling stations to limit crowds to 50 people.

A total of 33.7 percent of respondents said they wanted campaigns to be held virtually, while 10.7 percent said they wanted them to continue as normal.

During the first week of campaigning for the 2020 simultaneous regional elections, a number of candidates violated COVID-19 health protocols while hosting face-to-face events, the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) said. 

Bawaslu announced that an undisclosed number of candidates in 53 regencies and cities hosted campaign events without wearing masks and keeping their distance, or they hosted events with more than 50 people in attendance, from Sept. 26 to Sept. 30. 

The agency said it dispersed the events for violating a General Elections Commission (KPU) regulation. 

The regulation, issued on Sept. 23, bans candidates from holding rallies and crowded events such as concerts during the campaign period, which lasts from Sept. 26 to Dec. 5. 

It stipulates that candidates must use online platforms to reach voters. They may host face-to-face rallies indoors only when online campaigns cannot be held. Such rallies must be held under strict health protocols with no more than 50 attendees.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s son-in-law Bobby Nasution, who is running for mayor of Medan, reportedly violated health protocols in his campaign. Tempo.co reported that Bawaslu had given Bobby’s campaign team a warning.

Meanwhile, the West Java Elections Supervisory Agency recorded 119 health protocol violations during campaign activities in eight regions in the province. Of the eight regions, Bandung regency had the most violations with 35.

“We have issued warning letters,” Zaki said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com. (nkn)

 

 

Editor’s note: This article is part of a public campaign by the COVID-19 task force to raise people’s awareness about the pandemic.