November 28, 2024
Medan – A series of recent disasters across the country, from hydrometeorological disasters in North Sumatra to volcanic eruptions in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), prevented millions of people from attending the country’s first nationwide simultaneous event on Wednesday to vote in the regional chief election.
About 30% of North Sumatra’s 25,223 polling stations were unable to vote as heavy rainfall triggered massive flooding and landslides across the province. The province’s General Election Commission (KPU) recorded more than 10.7 million voters.
Aswin Diapari Lubis, chairman of the North Sumatra provincial election supervisory agency (Bawaslu), admitted that participation in Wednesday’s polls was “extremely low” due to the ongoing natural disaster.
For example, at the 02 Teladan Timur Polling Station (TPS) in Medan, only 40% of the 524 voters came to the TPS that day. “Disasters discourage people from voting, so participation rates are lower,” Aswin said.
Most of the affected TPS are in the province’s capital city, where homes have been flooded by 30 to 100 centimeters of water since early Wednesday morning.
The KPU office in Binjai, North Sumatra, was also flooded, forcing election officials to relocate to the local Bawaslu office.
Also read: Polling station workers in Palangkaraya and Muara Enim die before voting
Many poll workers and voters in Medan failed to show up at polling stations as they tried to save their properties from flooding or evacuate to safer places.
Additionally, Medan Lingkungan 1 polling station chief Raja Hasibuan said polling station staff were unable to conduct the voting process because they did not receive ballots and other election materials.
“Ballots and other voting equipment were stored in the flooded village headquarters. Our polling stations were also surrounded by knee-deep water,” he said.
The head of the Medan-Tanjung Gusta Divisional Poll Committee (PPS) said election organizers were having difficulty delivering ballots and other equipment to polling stations as flooding rendered many roads in the city impassable.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Budi Gunawan said voting in areas where voting was not possible on Wednesday would be rescheduled.
“Due to escalating natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, landslides or floods, voting in some affected areas will be rescheduled,” Budi said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Aswin of the Bawaslu North Sumatra branch said they are coordinating with the KPU to determine the new schedule.
The election is still going on
Meanwhile, several other regions across the country are insisting on voting procedures for regional chief elections despite being affected by natural disasters.
Election officials in Pekalongan City, Central Java Province, set up a makeshift stage at a polling station in the Karamat subdistrict of Pasik Craton so voters could cast their votes amid 30 centimeters of floodwater that inundated the area.
The subdivision has been flooded since the Bremi River dam burst on Saturday, causing flooding to hundreds of homes in the area.
Polling stations in Pekalongan were forced to relocate two polling stations to another location due to flooding.
Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, residents were seen walking through floodwaters to the polling stations to cast their votes for candidates for Pekalongan mayor and Central Java governor.
ALSO READ: Preliminary results show Lusfi defeats Andika in Central Java
In the villages of Landau Gedang and Teluk in Aceh’s Sinkir district, polling staff continued to conduct regional elections as normal despite widespread flooding that has inundated the villages since Sunday.
Acting regent of Aceh Sinkir Azmi said he had to move two of the three polling stations in the two villages to safer locations.
“We have asked the Aceh Sinkil Disaster Mitigation Agency [BPBD] Speedboats were provided to transport voters who had difficulty reaching polling stations, Azmi reported. Forum News.
On the day of the vote, dozens of villagers walked through 50-centimeter-deep floods or took boats to vote.
Hundreds of evacuees affected by the NTT Lewatobi volcano eruption earlier this month also participated in regional elections, but about 600 of them were unable to participate due to access restrictions, compass.id the report said.
Also read: Prabowo votes in local elections, calls for national reconciliation
Wednesday’s polls were the largest simultaneous regional elections in the country’s history, with 37 provinces and more than 500 regions and cities electing leaders on the day.
The Bureau of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) previously predicted that by the end of the peak rainy season in February 2025, many areas of the country will experience extreme weather events, which will lead to disasters such as floods and landslides in some areas.
Floods and landslides in North Sumatra over the weekend killed at least 20 people, and rescuers continued to search for survivors, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported.
