Explainer | Why Indonesia’s 100-million strong ‘democracy festival’ is sparking Covid-19 super spreader fears

More than 100 million people can vote in regional polls on Wednesday and health experts fear Southeast Asia’s worst-hit country will see more infections

The rise of political dynasties is also a concern as President Joko Widodo’s son and son-in-law battle for votes

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Mayoral candidate Gibran Rakabuming, the eldest son of President Joko Widodo, speaks alongside his running mate Teguh Prakosa during an election debate for mayor and deputy mayor in Solo on November 6. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00am, 8 Dec 2020Updated: 5:06pm, 8 Dec 2020

More than 100 million people are eligible to vote in Indonesia’s regional elections on Wednesday, making it one of the largest such events in the world during this pandemic year. Critics and health experts have expressed concerns that the elections could turn into a super-spreader event, exacerbating the health crisis in the world’s fourth most populous nation.

The elections will be held to select leaders in 270 regions – nine provinces, 224 regencies, and 37 municipalities – and are the largest regional elections to date in Indonesia. The government has again set December 9 as a public holiday, as it did for the presidential election last year, reflecting the country’s moniker for the one-day election event – pesta demokrasi, or “democracy festival”.

Vote counting is expected to wrap up on December 20.

Why didn’t the authorities delay the election?

Health experts and influential groups including the two largest moderate Muslim organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, called on the government to cancel the elections because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the government in June decided to push the date back from September to December 9.

President Joko Widodo’s spokesman, Fadjroel Rachman, said in September that the elections could not be delayed further because the government wanted to “preserve the people’s constitutional rights to vote and to be voted into a public office”.

Jakarta is also aiming to showcase to the international community that Indonesians are capable of holding a major election even amid the pandemic, with voters complying with stringent health measures. However, the General Elections Supervisory Agency, or Bawaslu, said on Friday that there had been 2,584 violations of health measures since campaigning started on September 26 until it ended on December 4. More than 124,000 campaign events or activities were held in person, despite the agency’s plea that only virtual campaigning be done.