As Indonesia gears for the massive simultaneous elections across 270 regions at the end of the year, dozens of regional head nominees have tested positive for the coronavirus, at least some of which may have been the result of health protocol non-compliance during campaigning.
In a press conference this morning, the General Elections Commission (KPU) said that 37 nominees have tested positive for the coronavirus thus far, with the number likely to rise as the commission receives more registration data from across the country.
“The data on the 37 people were collected from 21 provinces as of midnight. Some data is still being prepared,” KPU chairman Arief Budiman said.
KPU said 687 nominees seeking to compete in provincial, city, and regency elections put themselves forward during the official registration period from Sep. 4-6. All nominees were required to submit to PCR testing.
Those who tested positive may register as soon as they test negative. Nominees who fulfill all registration requirements will be officially declared candidates on Sep. 23.
The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) said it recorded 243 health protocol violations by nominees during the registration period. Most of the violations consisted of nominees bringing their large entourage as they registered with KPU in their respective regions, thereby violating prohibition for crowds outlined in election rules.
Some 20 nominees failed to submit swab test results along with their registration documents.
The simultaneous regional elections will be held on Dec. 9 provided they don’t get postponed. If the registration process has produced this many health protocol violations, there’s no telling how many violations there will be on the actual voting day.
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