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Vulnerable elections
With about two weeks before the simultaneous regional elections in 270 regions across the country on Dec. 9, health protocol violations have persisted.
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ith about two weeks before the simultaneous regional elections in 270 regions across the country on Dec. 9, health protocol violations have persisted. But officials seem to be playing down the continuing breach of the most effective mechanism to contain COVID-19 during the ongoing electoral campaign.
As of Nov. 15, the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) had recorded 1,448 offenses since the beginning of the campaign season on Sept. 26. The transgressions included failure to wear a mask, follow social distancing rules and limit in-person gatherings to less than 50 people. Bawaslu has acted against the violations by, among other measures, dispersing 158 campaign events after candidates or campaign teams repeatedly broke the rules and reprimanding first-time offenders.
The General Elections Commission (KPU) regulation bans candidates and their campaign teams from holding mass rallies and other events that attract huge crowds. Participants of the events must follow the health protocols. To minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission, the KPU suggests the candidates and their campaign teams rely on social media and online platforms in place of face-to-face rallies.
The number of violations, however, is too little to worry the KPU, the House of Representatives and the government. KPU chairman Arief Budiman, who once contracted the virus, said the health protocols were relatively enforceable during the campaign season, with only 2.2 percent of the candidates failing to comply with the rules. Arief was therefore optimistic the elections would not create new clusters of virus transmission.
On Monday, the total number of infections nationwide surpassed the 500,000 mark after the Health Ministry confirmed 4,442 new cases that day. The death toll now stands at over 16,000.
There is no hint the curve of virus transmission in the country is flattening, despite numerous government interventions.
While reminding people in the regions that will hold local elections to implement the health protocols, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered Home Minister Tito Karnavian and National Police chief Gen. Idham Azis to monitor the remaining two weeks of the campaign season and voting day. Failure to comply with the prevailing rules is likely to result in a second wave of virus transmission, which will stand between the country and recovery.
The President appeared to smart from blatant violations of the protocols committed during a series of events involving firebrand cleric Rizieq Shihab in Jakarta and Bogor, West Java last week. The COVID-19 task force has recorded at least 80 new infections following the events that attracted huge crowds.
Despite the number of health protocol violations which is considered low, the regional elections remain vulnerable to creating new clusters of COVID-19 transmission. The desire to win could prompt candidates to seek every path, no matter if it breaks the protocols, to woo voters ahead of the Dec. 9 polling.
A combination of lenient penalties and inconsistent enforcement of the protocols and complacency remain the challenges that the KPU and the government have to address. Political ambitions of candidates vying for gubernatorial, regental and mayoral posts must not sacrifice public safety.
