One of the Commissioner with the General Election Commission or KPU Indonesia, Ilham Saputra told as cited News24xx.com from the Straits Times that the elections in Indonesia went smoothly with no reports of significant hindrance in the election process.
Before, one of the biggest concerns about holding the election during a pandemic is the potential uncontrolled spread of Covid-19.
Indonesia with 270 million people has recorded nearly 600,000 confirmed cases and more than 18,000 fatalities – South-east Asia’s highest on both counts.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, President Joko wrote: “The elections had posed a unique challenge as they had taken place during a pandemic. Besides having to implement the (elections) democratically, there’s one thing that must not be ignored. Health protocols must be adhered to for the sake of our safety and security.”
But, wearing masks and gloves, millions of voters across the country turned out to cast their ballots for nine governors, 224 regents, and 37 mayors. Voters were also sprayed with disinfectant and had their temperatures taken.
But not everyone was willing to take the risk. Seman, a polling officer in Medan, said only 190 of 430 eligible voters showed up to cast their ballots at his polling station.
“This election has been very quiet. People were worried about contracting the virus so many have stayed at home rather than come out to vote,” he added.
A huge logistical undertaking, the elections had involved more than two million workers who were deployed to nearly 300,000 polling stations across the archipelago.
Epidemiologists warned that the election may trigger new clusters of infection but the KPU assured citizens it had taken necessary health precautions to curb the spread of the virus.
