Human Rights Friendly Separation of National and Local Elections, Reduces Risk of Polling Station Officer Deaths

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The National Human Rights Commission or Komnas HAM appreciates the Constitutional Court's decision to separate the implementation of national and local elections. The decision is considered a progressive step in realizing elections that are more human rights friendly. In particular, in protecting the rights to life and health of ad hoc election officials and fulfilling voters' rights to information.

"Komnas HAM considers this policy to be in line with the recommendations in the Policy Paper that was released on January 15, 2024, regarding the protection and fulfillment of human rights, especially for ad hoc election officers, many of whom died during the 2024 Simultaneous Elections," said Komnas HAM Chair Anis Hidayah in an official statement received by Kompas, Monday (30/6/2025).

Through decision Number 135/PUU-XXII/2024, read on Thursday (26/6/2025), the Constitutional Court (MK) has separated the implementation of national elections and local elections starting in 2029. National elections include the presidential election and the election of members of the DPR and DPD, while local elections encompass the election of provincial and district/city DPRD members as well as the election of governors and mayors/regents.

The national elections are requested to be held first, while the local elections should be conducted at the earliest 2 years and at the latest 2 years and 6 months after the inauguration of the president and vice president or the inauguration of the members of the DPR and DPD.

The new design for the separation of local and national elections will distribute the workload of the Polling Place (TPS) officers, particularly in the process of voting and counting the votes.

In the previous two elections, namely the 2019 and 2024 elections, many officials experienced extreme fatigue, and some even lost their lives, due to the simultaneous conduct of the national elections and the regional legislative council elections.

Research from the Faculty of Medicine at Gadjah Mada University indicates that the majority of deaths are due to cardiovascular diseases. One of the triggers is the heavy workload from the collection and counting of five ballots, which takes time from morning until early morning.

"The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) noted that the simultaneous election system previously caused the workload of polling station officers to exceed reasonable limits. This was accompanied by high psychological pressure and minimal rest time. By separating national and local elections, the working hours will be shorter and more measurable, while also providing adequate rest periods for the officers," he explained.

From the perspective of voters, the separation of elections is also considered capable of enhancing the quality of democratic participation. Until now, voters have often been confused because the campaign focus has been solely centered on the presidential election, resulting in insufficient attention to the legislative elections for the DPR, DPD, and DPRD. Many ballots, especially for the DPD, are invalid as they are not marked at all.

"The National Human Rights Commission stated that this new design allows voters to better understand national and local issues separately. Thus, voters can make more rational decisions and are not influenced by ethnic, religious, racial, and inter-group sentiments or hoaxes," Anis added.

The latest decision from the Constitutional Court is also considered to demonstrate the presence of the state in ensuring the right to decent work, the right to life, and the right to health for the officials, as well as the right to information for voters. It is hoped that the 2029 elections will mark a new milestone towards more humane and democratic elections.

Meanwhile, the Vice President of the Labor Party, Said Salahudin, believes that the Constitutional Court's reason for separating the timing of national and local elections reflects on the experiences of previous elections, where several issues arose for election organizers, political parties, and voters.

For election organizers, simultaneous elections create an excessive workload. The vote recapitulation process is complicated, even causing many ad hoc election organizers to get sick and die.

For political parties, simultaneous elections present challenges in preparing candidates. Political parties must find the right figures to be nominated in the presidential election and legislative elections. "In a short period, they must also prepare candidates for regional elections," he added.

As a result, political parties become easily trapped in pragmatism rather than the desire to maintain the idealism and ideology of their party. Political parties tend to follow the wishes of capital owners and solely consider the popularity of candidates from outside the party in order to win the contest.

"Internal party cadres have fewer opportunities to be nominated because political parties do not have sufficient time to prepare their internal cadres for regional elections. This leads to a weakening of the institutionalization of political parties, where at a certain point, political parties become powerless when faced with political realities and practical political interests," he explained.

However, the Vice President of the Labor Party for Electoral Affairs and Political Law reminded that with the merging of the local election schedule, the candidates for the upcoming regional elections are still unable to ascertain the political party strength that will support or nominate them.

"This situation is different from the 2024 regional elections, where the candidates have known from the beginning the number of seats in the Regional People's Representative Council or the vote acquisition of the political parties that will support them," he stated.