Regional Elections (Not) About Risking Lives

KOMPAS/JUMARTO YULIANUS

A crowd of supporters bearing campaign flags surround the South Kalimantan governor and deputy governor candidates, Denny Indrayana and Difriadi Darjat (center, wearing garlands), as the group heads en masse for the pair to register at the South Kalimantan General Elections Commission (KPU) on Saturday (5/9/2020) in Banjarmasin.

The polemic over the 2020 regional elections (Pilkada) between those urging its postponement and others wanting the elections to proceed as planned shows that Indonesia is maturing as a nation in managing public dilemmatic and sensitive issues. In the beginning, the public discourse was dichotomously antagonistic, assuming that proceeding with the simultaneous elections would be risking lives while postponing it would save lives. However, the debate that emerged later is more constructive. Each side posited arguments that culminated in agreeing that the regional elections must be held, but human safety was the first priority.

The arguments of those pushing for postponing the regional elections can be boiled down to three main points. First, the data estimates a potentially very large number of victims because of the larger number of people who would be exposed to Covid-19. A study by Indo Barometer, for example, estimates that if the elections proceed without strict requirements for implementing the health protocol, millions of people could potentially be exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease.