Survey Results: Majority of the Public Believe the 2020 Regional Elections Should Be Postponed

The General Election Commission (KPU) has decided to proceed with the Simultaneous Regional Head Elections (Pilkada) in 2020. This decision is scheduled to be executed on December 9th.

However, a survey titled "Public Opinion on Covid-19 Handling Policies" shows that more than half of the respondents believe the Pilkada 2020 voting should be postponed. 51.2% of the 1,200 respondents considered holding the Pilkada at the end of the year inappropriate due to the ongoing pandemic. Only 29.5% of respondents in the Roda Tiga Konsultan survey deemed holding the Pilkada on December 9th, 2020, appropriate.

The KPU's decision to hold the Pilkada 2020 has drawn criticism. This is because the health of election officials, candidates, and voters is at stake amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, there is a growing risk of the politicization of Covid-19 budgets and social assistance by regional head candidates, as reported by Kompas.com.