Election organizers and regional administrations have requested extra funds from the state budget for the 2020 simultaneous regional elections as the central government insists on holding year-end regional polls amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Home Minister Tito Karnavian proposed a total of Rp 1.4 trillion (US$98.78 million) in extra funding for the General Elections Commission (KPU), the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) and at least 204 of 270 regions across Indonesia that are set to hold elections in December. “The central [election organizers] need Rp 391 billion and the regional ones need Rp 1.02 trillion. Therefore, we need Rp 1.4 trillion in extra budget funds,” Tito said on Thursday in a virtual hearing with Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and House of Representatives Commission II, whic...