Iran Press/Asia: Fatigue and overwork-related illnesses by Indonesian Staff caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand, Arief Priyo Susanto, spokesman of the general elections commission (KPU) said on Sunday.
The Health Ministry issued a circular letter on April 23 urging health facilities to give utmost care for sick election staff, while the Finance Ministry is working on compensation for families of the deceased, Susanto added, Reuters reported.
The April 17 elections were the first time the country of 260 million people combined the presidential vote with national and regional parliamentary ones, with an aim to cut costs.
Voting was largely peaceful and was estimated to have drawn 80 percent of the total 193 million eligible voters, who each had to punch up to five ballot papers in over 800,000 polling stations.
But conducting the eight-hour vote in a country that stretches more than 5,000 km from its western to eastern tips proven to be both a Herculean logistical feat and deadly for staff, who had to count ballot papers by hand.
Both candidates have declared victory, though quick counts suggested Widodo won the election by around 9-10 percentage points.
The KPU will conclude vote counting and announce winners of the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 22.105/211/205
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