More than 270 died from overwork-related illnesses in Indonesia elections

Hundreds of election staff in Indonesia have died from fatigue-related illnesses after hours spent counting ballot papers by hand.

The Mayor of Bogor, Bima Arya (third right) visits officers of the Voting Organizing Group in the Hospital, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. Source: AAP

Ten days after Indonesia held the world’s biggest single-day elections, more than 270 election staff have died, mostly from fatigue-related illnesses caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand, an official said on Sunday.

The 17 April 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.

The Mayor of Bogor, Bima Arya (right two) visited the officers of the Voting Organizing Group (KPPS) in the Hospital, Bogor. Source: AAP

Voting was largely peaceful and was estimated to have drawn 80 per cent of the total 193 million 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 officials, who had to count ballot papers by hand.

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