Over 270 Election Staff Die Counting Votes In Indonesia

Indonesia’s general election commission says more than 270 election workers have died, mostly out of fatigue-related illnesses, caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand.

Around seven million people were helping to count and monitor the April 17th vote and were expected to work through the night in sweltering conditions, which took a hefty physical toll on many, who unlike civil servants, do not undergo a medical examination before starting work.

The elections were the first time the country of 260 million people combined the presidential vote with national and regional parliamentary ballots, in order to save money. Around 80 percent of the 193 million eligible voters cast their votes in more than 800,000 polling stations.

Critics say the government was not prudent for combining the elections and creating unrealistic expectations of temporary staff.