Successful Local Elections Part of National Agenda: Home Ministry
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26 July 2020 17:50 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Successful regional head elections (Pilkada) to be organized simultaneously in 270 regions in Indonesia's 32 provinces are part of the national agenda, according to acting Secretary General of the Ministry of Home Affairs Muhammad Hudori.
"The 2020 simultaneous local elections will be organized in 270 regions in 32 provinces, except Aceh and Jakarta. Pilkada is a national agenda, or a national strategic program, and it must be implemented successfully," Hudori said in a statement on Sunday.
The simultaneous local elections must be carried out democratically as mandated by Indonesia's democratic system, he remarked .
He highlighted the importance of applying strict health protocols as the Pilkada will be held amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"An important point that I want to convey is that the election implementation process must follow the health protocols and be guided by democratic principles," he added.
In early July 2020, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian expressed his hope that the voter turnout in simultaneous Pilkada this year would reach at least 50 percent.
"The target of voter turnout that we expect is above 50 percent. If possible higher than that, it will be better," Tito Karnavian said while speaking during an online seminar on July 5, 2020.
The minister hoped at least some 53 million people would cast their votes in the upcoming elections this year.
Based on June 9 data, the number of eligible voters in the 2020 local elections is 106,774,112 people, according to Arief Budiiman, chairman of the National Elections Commission (KPU).
The 2020 simultaneous regional head elections will be held on December 9 to elect governors in nine provinces, district heads in 224 districts, and mayors in 37 cities
The local elections were initially scheduled to be organized on September 23, 2020, but owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is decided to be postponed.
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