71 election workers died from exhaustion in Indonesia amid last week’s polls, while some 4,000 fell sick

The death toll came despite the government imposing an age cap for volunteers and mandating health checks after more than 500 workers died in 2019

Five million paid volunteers worked at around 800,000 voting booths across the nation in last week’s voting, which lasted for about six hours

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Workers with the logistics unit of Indonesia’s General Elections Commission (KPU) ride motorbikes to deliver election materials to remote polling stations in Lampung province earlier this month. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:34pm, 20 Feb 2024

Seventy-one people have so far died from exhaustion following the world’s largest single-day election in Indonesia last week, according to the government.

Some 4,000 others fell sick between February 14 and February 18 due to fatigue after helping run the February 14 election, Hasyim Asy’ari, chairman of the nation’s poll body said in a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

The latest election still claimed dozens of lives despite the government imposing an age cap for volunteers and mandating health checks after more than 500 polling station workers died following the 2019 vote.

Electoral workers on motorbikes distribute ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia to polling stations in remote villages in Maros, Indonesia, ahead of the February 14 election. Photo: AP

Five million paid volunteers worked at 800,000 voting booths across the nation in last week’s voting that lasted about six hours. More than 200 million citizens were registered to cast their ballots to elect a president, vice-president and legislators on the national and local levels.

Running a voting process in Indonesia requires working around the clock to distribute, count and report hundreds of paper ballots that could last more than 12 hours after polling booths close.

Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto has declared victory in the presidential race, citing the unofficial results of multiple quick counts. The official results will be announced by March 20.

71 election workers died from exhaustion in Indonesia amid last week’s polls, while some 4,000 fell sick

The death toll came despite the government imposing an age cap for volunteers and mandating health checks after more than 500 workers died in 2019 Five million paid volunteers worked at around 800,000 voting booths across the nation in last week’s voting, which lasted for about six hours

The death toll came despite the government imposing an age cap for volunteers and mandating health checks after more than 500 workers died in 2019

Five million paid volunteers worked at around 800,000 voting booths across the nation in last week’s voting, which lasted for about six hours