Indonesia election: 10 policemen, six polling officers die of fatigue

The country’s social media users paid tribute to the officers with the hashtag #MartirDemokrasi

Meanwhile, a protest planned by supporters of presidential challenger Prabowo was scuppered by heavy rain in Jakarta

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Police officers and soldiers escort electoral workers using horses to distribute ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia to polling stations in remote villages in Tempurejo, East Java. Photo: AP

Published: 8:32pm, 19 Apr 2019Updated: 10:08pm, 19 Apr 2019

As Indonesia awaits the official results of Wednesday’s general elections, the tragic cases of polling officers and policemen who reportedly died due to extreme fatigue have gained the attention of social media users. They have started using the hashtag #MartirDemokrasi (MartyrsofDemocracy) to honour those who died while helping to ensure that the world’s biggest single-day election could be carried out smoothly.

Six polling station working committee officers were reported to have died from exhaustion after working long hours on Wednesday, the day when more than 192 million voters had a chance to vote at more than 800,000 polling stations across the country.

In one case, a 54-year-old officer, who had been working 12 hours non-stop, passed out and was rushed to a nearby health centre, where he died later, reported The Jakarta Post. His family said he had a history of asthma.

Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech to supporters who gathered outside his home after Friday prayers in Jakarta. Photo: AFP

News portal detik.com reported that 10 policemen also died of exhaustion while carrying out their duties during the election. Some passed out while carrying the ballot boxes to the counting centres.

One Twitter user said on Thursday: “I can’t imagine how tired they must have been. We should really appreciate how hard. the team had been working to prepare for this election.”

Indonesian authorities on Friday continued to maintain their vigilance against any possible unrest, as presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto still refused to concede defeat to incumbent President Joko Widodo more popularly known as Jokowi even though quick count results from independent pollsters showed the latter in the lead by between 9 and 11 percentage points.