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Government claims high turnout in regional elections
The government and lawmakers had insisted on hosting the elections during the pandemic, despite critics calling for a postponement, and the KPU found itself under pressure to draft special health measures for the Dec. 9 polls.
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A COVID-19 patient casts her vote during the 2020 South Tangerang regional elections in Rumah Lawan COVID, an isolation center in South Tangerang, Banten, on Dec. 9. (Antara/Fauzan)
The 2020 regional elections had a high turnout despite being held during a pandemic, the government has claimed.
Speaking in a meeting with regional heads and election organizers in Yogyakarta on Monday, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD said he was grateful for the voters’ participation on Dec. 9 and claimed that no new infection clusters had emerged from election crowds.
Mahfud said the voter turnout "increased from 69.02 percent in the 2015 regional elections to 75.82 percent this year".
All 269 regions hosting the 2015 polls also participated in Dec. 9 elections, plus Makassar in South Sulawesi, which had to redo its 2018 mayoral race this year after a blank box won the majority two years ago.
The voter turnout was slightly below the General Elections Commission's (KPU) target of 77.5 percent from the more than 100 million registered voters this year.
The government and lawmakers had insisted on hosting the elections during the pandemic, despite critics calling for a postponement, and the KPU found itself under pressure to draft special health measures for the Dec. 9 polls.
Mahfud said the government had accommodated the many concerns of various parties who warned about the emergence of new virus clusters, and it had taken into account the public’s suggestions in its decision-making process.
