February 19, 2024
JAKARTA – At least 23 poll workers died during and after the Feb. 14 general election, reportedly of exhaustion, despite efforts by the General Elections Commission (KPU) to prevent a repetition of 2019’s hundreds of election worker deaths.
Some 5 million poll administrators (KPPS) helped operate over 800,000 polling stations nationwide in the single-day presidential and legislative elections last week and are in charge of counting ballots manually at polling stations.
KPU commissioner Idham Kholik told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that his office suspected that “exhaustion from working long hours until the early hours” was behind the deaths.
The elections body will pay Rp 36 million (US$2,300) in compensation to the families of each of the deceased, alongside Rp 10 million for funeral expenses.
Poll administrators are responsible for a series of election-related tasks, including counting the ballots at the polling-station level, a fast-paced endeavor that can take more than a day of continuous work to complete. They receive Rp 1.1 million (US$70) for the month of work, which ends on Feb. 25.
More than 2,800 poll administrators also fell ill on Feb. 14 and 15, according to KPU records, reportedly a result of the heavy workload on and after voting day.
The three provinces with the largest number of registered voters – all located on Java Island – also reported the highest number of poll administrator deaths.
West Java recorded six poll worker deaths and 1,335 cases of illness, East Java had five deaths and 161 poll workers who fell ill, and Central Java saw three workers die and 215 fall ill.
South Sulawesi reported the highest number of poll worker fatalities of the provinces outside Java, with three deaths.
In Jakarta, two poll workers died and eight fell ill.
“Hopefully these numbers will not increase, because we undertook some efforts to prevent that, including medical check-ups and age restrictions,” said KPU commissioner Mochammad Afifuddin, as quoted by Antara.
Read also: Health authorities ready to safeguard health of poll workers
For the 2024 election, the KPU required poll worker applicants to be below the age of 56 and to undergo a medical examination. The new requirements came in response to the deaths of hundreds of poll workers in the previous general election in 2019.
More than 5,000 poll workers fell ill and nearly 900 died that year, the first time the country held presidential and legislative elections on a single day. Most of those who died in 2019 were over the age of 50 and had accompanying health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol.
The cases
On voting day, reports of poll administrator deaths started to emerge, including in Kendal regency, Central Java, where 43-year-old Joko Pratikno collapsed during ballot counting and was later declared dead.
In West Java, Arman Rahmansyah, 38, lost consciousness at a polling station in Tasikmalaya during nighttime vote counting, some 10 hours after the polls closed on Feb. 14.
Arman was declared dead shortly after arriving at a nearby community health center (Puskesmas).
Earlier in the night, he had gone home for a break from the task after complaining about chest pain but later returned to the polling station for the vote counting, media reported.
In Koja, North Jakarta, poll administrator Iyos Rusli, 50, returned home early after telling his colleagues that he felt unwell. Shortly after arriving home, Iyos lost consciousness and was later pronounced dead by a medical worker who came to check on his condition, Antara reported.
Read also: Young people step up as poll workers in wake of 2019 election deaths
Several poll administrators died before voting day, reportedly a result of exhaustion after working late nights or because they had preexisting health conditions.
The family of polling station head Firmanto, 49, rushed him to a nearby hospital midday on Tuesday after he woke up from four hours of sleep with chest pain. He had arrived home several hours before, after attending a polling administrator preparation meeting that had run until 4 a.m.
Firmanto was declared dead soon after arriving at the hospital.
“My father was exhausted. Maybe that was the cause of his death. He often came home late when serving as head KPPS at his polling station,” said Adam, Firmanto’s son.
He said his father had no preexisting health conditions.
Medan Baru district head Frans Seno Ranto Halomoan Riahaan claimed Firmanto died of a heart attack, not exhaustion. (jan/yer)
— Apriadi Gunawan contributed to this report from Medan.