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KPU prepares measures to prevent work overload of poll workers
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An official presents ballot papers on July 22, 2020 during a simulation for the 2020 regional elections at the General Elections Commission in Central Jakarta. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he General Elections Commission (KPU) is looking at the possibility of applying new requirements for poll workers and simplifying the vote recapitulation process for the 2024 presidential and legislative elections to prevent the recurrence of the deaths of hundreds of workers in 2019.
Indonesia saw one of its gloomiest general elections in 2019 when KPU recorded the deaths of more than 800 polling station workers across the country. Most of them died from exhaustion after working long hours to count votes and finish reports of vote recapitulation, KPU commissioner Viryan Aziz said on Monday.
Viryan said it took 34 days to process the election results, or four days longer than the process in the 2004 general election.
“If [the method] is not changed, it is possible that another poll worker could die,” Viryan said during a webinar hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Monday.
The KPU is now devising new requirements for polling station workers, such as maximum age and mandatory medical records, to prevent those vulnerable or with comorbidities from being hired.
Read also: Old age, poor health caused deaths of poll administrators: Govt
It also plans to replace the manual vote recapitulation system with an electronic system to tally votes in 2024, despite a similar plan having been canceled during the 2020 simultaneous regional elections following objections from lawmakers who cited a wide digital gap between rural and urban regions.
