Jakarta
The government has declared Dec. 9, the voting day in the upcoming simultaneous regional election, a national holiday. The decision is stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 22/2020, signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo last Friday. The national holiday is hoped to provide “the widest possible opportunity for citizens to exercise their voting right”, says the decree. The General Elections Commission (KPU) said it would coordinate with relevant institutions, including the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), the Indonesian Military, the National Police and the COVID-19 task force, to enforce health protocol during the elections. “We hope voters will not hesitate to come to polling stations, because we follow health protocols for the management of all voting logistics used at the stations,” said KPU official Dewa Kade Wiarsa Raka Sandi,...