If all of the political tensions and non-stop coverage of next Wednesday’s Jakarta Governor’s election have got you stressed out, here’s something that should help you relax a little: Feb 15, aka voting day, has now been officially declared a public holiday in Jakarta, which applies to both government agencies and private businesses.
“I confirm that, in Jakarta, February 15 is a holiday. All the areas which are organizing elections will have a holiday,” said Acting Governor of Jakarta Sumarsono (who is acting as governor until Saturday when Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama officially returns to work at the end of the campaign season) at City Hall today as quoted by Kompas.
Sumarsono said an official circular on the holiday has not yet been sent out yet as he is still waiting for instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs, but that, pursuant to the 2016 Law on Elections, all areas holding elections are to have a mandated holiday on voting day.
The acting governor said he wanted to issue the statement even though the circular was not yet ready because he had heard reports that there were some private companies who were refusing to give their employees the day off on election day.
“I received an SMS that there is a private company on Jalan Sudirman that would not [give their employees the day off], and it’s wrong because the law mandates they have the day off,” Sumarsono said.
