"There were over 800 exhausted officers who died in the 2019 election. We have evaluated this," KPU chairperson Hasyim Asy'ari said after attending the 2023 National Consolidation Meeting on the Readiness for the 2024 Election in Jakarta.
He affirmed that KPU has conducted an evaluation and taken lessons from the deaths of hundreds of KPPS officers in the previous election.
The evaluation found that most of the KPPS officers who died in the 2019 election were over 50 years old and suffered from a comorbidity.
Based on a study by the Ministry of Health, the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) of Yogyakarta, and the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), the three most common comorbidities among KPPS officers in the 2019 election were high blood pressure, heart attack, and diabetes.
Reflecting on this experience, KPU has tightened the KPPS officer selection by setting the maximum age at 55 years and requiring officers to be in good health with no severe comorbidities.
"We have evaluated this and applied it during the regional election during the COVID-19 pandemic," Asy'ari informed.
He said that the central and regional governments will provide support to ensure that KPPS officers do not become severely exhausted during the 2024 elections.
One of the measures taken to prevent excessive fatigue among KPPS officers has been the issuance of President's Instruction No. 2/2021 on the Optimization of the Employment Social Security Program (Jamsostek).
"The instruction has been directed at all ministerial officials and regional leaders, including governors, district heads, and mayors. So, one of the labor segments that the President instructed to achieve this social security is the election organizers," Asy'ari informed.
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Translator: Hreeloita S, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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