Antara, Jakarta – Health Ministry data published on Sunday reveals that at least 57 officials and volunteers hired to organize the February 14 general elections have died, primarily due to poor health conditions.

Thirteen deaths among election officials are attributed to heart attacks, while hypertension and acute respiratory syndrome caused ten other fatalities. Additionally, cerebrovascular accidents, septic shock, diabetes, and asthma contributed to the death toll, which occurred before, during, and after election day.

The ministry also reported that eight deaths were related to traffic accidents.

Among the deceased, 20 were aged above 51 years old, 18 between 41 and 50 years old, eight between 21 and 40 years old, seven between 21 and 30 years old, and four between 17 and 20 years old, according to the ministry.

More than 8,300 election officials and witnesses were treated for various health issues.

"People above 55 years old accounted for approximately 15 percent of the overall number of election officials due to the limited human resources to fill the role. Some of them have comorbid conditions," Health Ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said earlier this week.

Election officials bear demanding responsibilities, including data collection, distributing voter invitations, preparing election logistics, organizing voting at polling stations, counting votes, documenting results, and transmitting them to the central database.

On election day, the work began at 7 a.m. and, in most cases, lasted until after midnight to count votes and verify tallies for presidential and parliamentary candidates.

With over 820,000 polling stations nationwide, each employing at least five officials, the KPU enlisted more than 5 million volunteers countrywide to manage polling stations in every neighborhood.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/death-toll-among-election-officials-rises-to-5