More than 40 countries in the world, including Indonesia, have postponed local elections due to the pandemic, despite the potential political implications of the postponements.
By
DEDY AFRIANTO
·7 minutes read
JOHN HART/WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL VIA AP
A voter in Dunn, Wisconsin, United States, checks a ballot during an election on 7 April 2020. Several states in the US organized elections as part of the series of elections to peak this year. As many as 17 states postponed elections amid fear of the spread of COVID-19.
More than 40 countries in the world, including Indonesia, have postponed local elections due to the pandemic. While there may be potential political implications of the delays on the one hand, on the other, this is also the right moment to rethink effective solutions for future emergencies in which holding direct elections are deemed impossible due to non-natural disasters.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also affected elections – widely considered to be “celebrations of democracy” – in many parts of the world. Data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in the first week of April showed that 47 countries around the world had postponed their elections.
Europe has the biggest number of elections that have been delayed.
Elections have been postponed in several countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, and involve presidential, mayoral and legislative elections, as well as referendums, that cannot be held as scheduled.
Europe has the biggest number of elections that have been delayed. Between 1 March and 8 April, 17 countries on the continent have decided to delay their elections.
Among these countries is Italy, the epicenter of the European outbreak, which was due to hold a referendum on reducing the number of parliamentarians on 29 March 2020. Rome has announced that the referendum has been delayed until further notice.
The referendum by election was to decide on a policy to reduce the number of members in the Italian parliament from 630 to 400 and in the senate from 315 to 200. However, the rapid spread of Covid-19 throughout the country has prompted Rome to postpone the referendum indefinitely.
Medical staff members wearing protective gear show their hands with the words written on gloves "Ce la faremo" ("We\'ll make it") written on them as they treat patients suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the intensive care unit at the Circolo hospital in Varese, Italy April 9, 2020.
More than 140,000 Italians tested positive for Covid-19 In the second week of April.
Some European countries, including Austria, have delayed local elections due to the epidemic. A general election scheduled for 15 March in Vorarlberg has been delayed until further notice.
Meanwhile, seven African countries have postponed their elections. Among these is Ethiopia, which had been scheduled to hold its legislative election on 29 August. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded more than 74 confirmed cases in the country as of 14 April.
Meanwhile, 12 countries in the Americas are facing a similar situation. In the US, several presidential primaries scheduled between March and May 2020 have been postponed.
The US is struggling to contain the Covid-19 epidemic, with the WHO’s records showing more than 550,000 Americans have tested positive for the disease. Washington, however, has not made any decision on whether to delay the presidential election on 3 November.
Closer to home, eight Asian countries have decided to delay their elections. Iran, Syria and Sri Lanka have postponed their legislative elections, while Indonesia has postponed its regional elections, originally scheduled to be held on 23 September.
The logos of political parties are displayed at the General Elections Commission (KPU) office, Jakarta, Wednesday (22/1/2020).
Consequences
The delayed elections around the world are certain to have consequences for both organizers and contestants, and must be addressed in order to uphold the principles of democratic elections.
For election organizers, heightened costs are among the biggest impacts, as they would need an additional budget if the elections must be restarted from scratch.
Another obstacle is a change in the number of eligible voters as a result of postponing an election. In the case of the regional elections in Indonesia, for instance, the General Elections Commission (KPU) must readjust its final voters list to include those above 17 years of age or those who have married in the interim until the new election date.
The KPU must ensure that voters feel safe to turn up at polling stations.
Election participants, both individual candidates and the political parties that back them, will also bear impacts of a delayed election. In countries or regions that have postponed their elections before the campaign season has begun, it means more time for electoral candidates to prepare their campaign messages.
However, those countries or regions that have postponed their elections mid-campaign will incur more political costs for participants, especially if these elections are postponed up to a year after their original voting day. Their campaign seasons will have to be adjusted so that they resume closer to the new election date so candidates can reenergize their supporters and complete their campaigns ahead of voting day.
Meanwhile, another potential effect on organizers is the possibility of a decrease in voter turnout. Massive public information campaigns must be held so that the voting public will be aware of the new election date. In Indonesia, the KPU must ensure that voters feel safe to turn up at polling stations. Even if the social panic in response to Covid-19 has died down around the world, people may continue to feel anxious about mingling in a crowd in public, including at polling stations.
KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO
Ahead of the South Tangerang mayoral election in 2020, billboards, banners and posters of a number of public figures and political parties are installed in public spaces, such as roadsides in South Tangerang city, Banten, as seen on Sunday (24/11/2019).
The KPU had several options for delaying the regional elections. The first option was to delay the elections until 9 Dec. 2020 to match the date of the 2015 simultaneous regional elections. This proposal was based on an assumption that the Covid-19 emergency period would end on 29 May.
The second option was to hold the elections on 17 March or 29 Sept. in 2021. This would have given the KPU a longer time to prepare for the elections following an end to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On 14 April, the government and the House of Representatives finally agreed to delay the regional elections to 9 Dec. This means that the public information campaign must begin in June, if the Covid-19 emergency period ends in May. The public all the way down to the grassroots level must be made aware of the new voting day so they can exercise their right to vote at the yearend.
Alternatives
Beyond these consequences, this epidemic presents an opportune time to come up with alternative solutions for the long term, in case other elections in the future must be rescheduled as a result of non-natural disasters.
Executive director Aditya Perdana of the University of Indonesia’s Center for Political Studies (Puskapol UI) said that several countries had implemented alternative solutions to hold elections during their localized outbreaks, including balloting by mail. However, this could only be done in countries with the infrastructure capable of maintaining the confidentiality of the ballots.
Voting by mail was implemented in March in Bavaria and other places in Germany to prevent crowds from forming at polling stations amid the Covid-19 epidemic.
DOKUMENTASI DKPP
Courtesy of Elections Organizer Honorary CouncilA view of a hearing between House of Representatives Commission II and members of the General Elections Commission, Elections Supervisory Body and the Elections Organizer Ethics Council at the House building on 30 March 2020. The meeting agreed to postpone the regional elections in 2020.
Voting by mail has security risks. Furthermore, this voting method also requires voters to be proactive in returning the ballots by mail to the election organizer.
This requires preparing the appropriate logistics and measures that guarantee the confidentiality of ballots, from the distribution of ballot papers to voters until the completed ballot papers are returned to the election organizer. However, the government could prepare ahead for this alternative as a solution in the event that future elections must be delayed due to non-natural disasters.
Other than voting by mail, electronic voting is another alternative. The idea was broached at a hearing involving the House, the KPU and the Home Ministry. However, the option remains unfeasible due to the lack of supporting infrastructure.
Electronic voting has often been discussed in the development of Indonesian democracy. However, a Kompas R&D poll in late December 2019 found that 76.2 percent of voters still preferred using ballot papers to cast their votes. Even so, there is no harm in preparing electronic voting as an alternative voting method, in the event that using ballot papers become unfeasible in future elections because of disasters or other factors.
No matter how it is viewed, the democratic transition of power through a general election is an important agenda that must not neglect humanitarian values. Meanwhile, finding alternative solutions is a must for Indonesia’s democracy, so that we will be ready if a situation similar to the Covid-19 pandemic arises in the future.
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