Lost in the news of election results, and the antics of a spoiled sore loser, is the sacrifice of many ordinary Indonesians to ensure fair elections. Some even giving their lives.
No less than 20 poll workers have passed away in various election related mishaps. Some just out of pure exhaustion. This twitter thread is recognizing them, along with the hashtag #MartirDemokrasi
The work of a poll worker is a grueling, stressful and thankless. One such worker wrote that they had to be ready at 5 am on election day at the poll station. When the ballots, boxes and logistics arrive, they then prepare the stations. Then they oversee the voting until 1 pm. The votes have to be counted immediately, starting 1:30 pm.
Each station is limited to about 200 votes, but remember there are 5 ballots in one (President, DPR, DPD, DPRD I, DPRD II - except for Jakarta which doesn't have DPRD II). The ballots have to be individually scrutinized, to see where the hole punch is, to see whether there are any additional holes that may invalidate it, etc. The ballots for the DPR/Ds are a bigger nightmare, since there are up to 200 names per ballot. This is because there are 20 parties, each allowed to field up to 10 candidates per electoral district.
Sample DPR Ballot
Counting the ballots last well into the night, possibly into early morning the next day. With very little breaks, and no sleeping. Then there is recapitulation, writing report, signatures, and taking the boxes to the village office (kelurahan), where it is then guarded under lock and key. Most TPS take until morning to finish this.
One worker wrote, "I couldn't go home to check on my kids, or shower, even though my station was near my house".
So the poor workers usually finish around 5 to 8am, working around 24 hours non-stop. It is then not surprising that they then get into accidents, or just collapse in exhaustion after.
No less than 20 poll workers have passed away in various election related mishaps. Some just out of pure exhaustion. This twitter thread is recognizing them, along with the hashtag #MartirDemokrasi
The work of a poll worker is a grueling, stressful and thankless. One such worker wrote that they had to be ready at 5 am on election day at the poll station. When the ballots, boxes and logistics arrive, they then prepare the stations. Then they oversee the voting until 1 pm. The votes have to be counted immediately, starting 1:30 pm.
Each station is limited to about 200 votes, but remember there are 5 ballots in one (President, DPR, DPD, DPRD I, DPRD II - except for Jakarta which doesn't have DPRD II). The ballots have to be individually scrutinized, to see where the hole punch is, to see whether there are any additional holes that may invalidate it, etc. The ballots for the DPR/Ds are a bigger nightmare, since there are up to 200 names per ballot. This is because there are 20 parties, each allowed to field up to 10 candidates per electoral district.
Sample DPR Ballot
Counting the ballots last well into the night, possibly into early morning the next day. With very little breaks, and no sleeping. Then there is recapitulation, writing report, signatures, and taking the boxes to the village office (kelurahan), where it is then guarded under lock and key. Most TPS take until morning to finish this.
One worker wrote, "I couldn't go home to check on my kids, or shower, even though my station was near my house".
So the poor workers usually finish around 5 to 8am, working around 24 hours non-stop. It is then not surprising that they then get into accidents, or just collapse in exhaustion after.