Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's national election organizing agency said it has received budgetary approval for Rp 9.8 trillion ($701 million) to hold next year's regional elections in nine provinces.

"[The elections] will be held in 265 regions and we initially requested Rp 11.7 trillion, but only Rp 9.8 trillion was approved," General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Arief Budiman said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He said grant agreements worth Rp 198.2 billion in total have yet to be concluded for another five regions.

According to KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan, a sizable portion of the budget will be spent on voter education and public awareness campaigns.

Voter participation reached a record-high 82 percent in Indonesia's first ever simultaneous presidential and legislative elections – considered the world's most complicated – in April this year.

"We know the participation rate [in the 2019] simultaneous elections was 82 percent, so we hope voter participation in the 2020 regional elections will be similar," Wahyu said.

The KPU also expects support from the government, specifically on human resources, during the election process.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-to-spend-701m-on-2020-regional-elections