Home Affairs Minister Urges Local Govt to Provide Aid for Families of Dead Election Officers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian asked local governments to provide aid for the families of the general election ad hoc agency officers who died during their duty. The aid, which comes from the local government budget, includes funeral costs and scholarships for the officers’ children.

“We are all mourning the death, but I urge all regional heads to provide aid for the officers who did their duty in the election, from KPU (General Elections Commission) to Bawaslu (Election Supervisory Agency), as well as other election officers,” he said on Monday, at the Health Ministry office.

The Minister also asked the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Dirjen Dukcapil) to facilitate the administrative process for the officers who died, including the issuance of their death certificates.

Reflecting on the 2019 election, Tito explained the anticipatory measures to reduce the number of officers dying and falling sick during their duty. “Several measures have been taken to anticipate the situation, one of which is the requirements based on the Health Minister’s recommendations. Ideally, a human could work up to 10 hours,” he said.

According to Tito, the government has limited the working age of the voting organizing group (KPPS) from 17 to 55 years old. The officers also went through medical screening to ensure their health.

In addition, the government through the Ministry of Health also readied medical facilities from public health centers, medical clinics, and hospitals to provide health services for ad hoc officers in polling stations.

Minister Tito also touched on a Constitutional Court’s decision on extending vote counting time to avoid exhaustion. “We all know that the voting starts at 07:00 a.m. to 01:00 p.m., and the vote counting is conducted up to midnight at maximum. But then a Constitutional Court decision extended the vote counting for 12 more hours. Meaning, the process is 22 hours with 12 hours added, so the [officers are working] for up to 34 hours,” he explained.

However, this decision must be understood clearly. The Ministry of Health has recommended that ideally, humans can work continuously for up to 10 hours. “And KPU believed in continuous work to avoid breaks, because breaks lead up to a moral hazard risk. But that doesn’t mean the officers work continuously [without breaks], if the individuals are tired, they are allowed rest, while the other officers cover their work so the vote counting keeps on going,” he concluded.

Editor's Note: The word 'Aids' in the title had been corrected to 'Aid'.

ANTARA

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