Jakarta
While the 2020 simultaneous regional elections are just around the corner, a continuous string of health protocol violations has inevitably raised questions about holding the country’s first-ever electoral contest during the COVID-19 health emergency. With less than a week to spare, however, Indonesia still intends to go ahead with the polls on Dec. 9, the largest since 2015. Since May, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has been issuing a series of health protocol regulations aimed to prevent the polls from becoming a “superspreader” event. Election organizers have been keen to keep a lid on each stage of the election process. This includes the campaign season, which ends this Saturday for all candidates after 71 days of campaigning that began on Sept. 26. However, this year’s campaign events and activities have managed to draw public attention for a...