Komnas HAM appreciates the postponement of the implementation of the 2020 elections by the KPU, Bawaslu, DKPP, and the DPRJakarta (ANTARA) - The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has hailed the decision to postpone the regional head elections (pilkada), scheduled for September this year, on account of the coronavirus pandemic.
The postponement was agreed upon by the House of Representatives (DPR), the General Election Commission (KPU), the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu), and the Electoral Honorary Council (DKPP).
"Komnas HAM appreciates the postponement of the implementation of the 2020 elections by the KPU, Bawaslu, DKPP, and the DPR," Komnas HAM member Amiruddin said in a statement here on Friday.
Continuing with the pilkada process amid the COVID-19 crisis would violate the basic human right of the Indonesian people to stay healthy and safe, he remarked.
Besides, it would also fuel concerns about election officers and voters being infected with the virus during the poll process, in case there are COVID-19 carriers among officers or voters, he added.
The human rights body, however, asked the government to issue a regulation to make the postponement of pilkada legal, and ensure that local elections are organized soon after the coronavirus outbreak ends.
"The organizers of the pilkada must ensure that the delay is not too long after the (COVID-19) situation is completely under control," Amiruddin said.
In addition, they must also guarantee that the health of election officers is safeguarded, he remarked.
In the simultaneous presidential and legislative elections held in April, 2019, around 800 poll officers had died after working very long hours in the world's largest single-day elections.
Earlier, the House of Representatives' Commission II had agreed to postpone the stages of the 2020 elections process. The agreement was made after lawmakers held a hearing with officials of the KPU, Bawaslu, and DKPP.
"The definition of the postponed stages is that the stages that have been completed (up till now) will still be recognized. There have been five stages, and they all will remain valid. They will not be eliminated. It's a matter of proceeding to the next stages," said chairman of the Commission II, Ahmad Doli Kurnia Tanjung, last Monday (March 30, 2020) at the Parliament Building.
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Translator: Fathur Rochman, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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