Twelve days after polling day on 14 February 2024, Indonesia's Ministry of Health reported that deaths among election workers had risen to 114, based on data as of 25 February 2024. Most were members of the polling station committees (KPPS), with 59 deaths, followed by 25 community protection officers (Linmas) and 6 election supervisory staff (Sagita, 2024).
These were not accidents in a factory or on a project, but the pattern is close to working life: a large temporary workforce recruited quickly, working long hours over a short period, under heavy physical and mental load. Below are five questions we often hear, answered with the sources available up to 26 February 2024. We do not speculate on causes of death and do not name any victim.
What Is Known?
Early ministry data for 10 to 15 February 2024 recorded 27 deaths among polling station officers, with heart disease the most common cause at 9 cases (CNN Indonesia, 2024). In the 25 February 2024 data, heart disease remained the leading cause with 29 cases, 15 cases had no known cause yet, 13 people died while travelling, and the rest included septic shock, hypertension, accidents, cerebrovascular disease and diabetes. The provinces reporting most deaths were West Java (29), East Java (25) and Central Java (20) (Sagita, 2024).
These are running report counts, not findings from case-by-case investigation. No official review concluding on the role of workload in each death was available at the time of writing.
What Did 2019 Teach?
In the 2019 simultaneous election, ministry data recorded 527 polling station officers dead and 11,239 ill, and the ministry's review at the time linked the deaths to pre-existing conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and stroke combined with a heavy workload (Febriansyah & Husnayanti, 2019). The same study measured workload at one polling station with the full time equivalent (FTE) method. Officers had to be ready from 06.00, and vote counting scheduled from 13.00 to 00.00 gave an FTE index of 1.61, above the 1.28 threshold for overload. A trial run of voting and counting took more than 24 hours (Febriansyah & Husnayanti, 2019). Its limitation is that it observed only one polling station.
Why Long Hours Matter
A joint WHO and ILO analysis estimated that 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischaemic heart disease in 2016 were linked to working 55 hours or more a week. Compared with 35 to 40 hours, working 55 hours or more was associated with an estimated 35 percent higher risk of stroke and a 17 percent higher risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021).
These estimates concern long hours sustained over years, not one or two very long days, so they cannot explain the election workers' deaths. In our view they remain relevant because they show that the heart and blood vessels are the main weak point when workload exceeds limits, especially in people who already carry risk factors.
What Was Prepared?
Ahead of polling day, the Ministry of Health prepared health facilities, health workers and the Public Safety Center 119 emergency service, kept community health centres open for 24 hours, and said it was ready to serve 5,741,127 polling station officers at 820,161 polling stations. Registration requirements included physical and mental health and freedom from narcotics abuse, and officers were urged to get enough sleep, water, food and exercise (Kementerian Kesehatan [Kemenkes], 2024). The election commission said it had proposed counting votes in two panels so officers would not become exhausted (CNN Indonesia, 2024).
On the hierarchy of controls, most of these measures are administrative: screening, advice and emergency readiness. In our assessment, stronger control lies in the design of the work itself, meaning how many hours one person works without a break and how many people share the load.
What Should Employers Do?
Workplaces face similar situations: plant turnarounds, project peaks or harvest seasons that bring in temporary workers. The lessons we draw:
- Redesign schedules before relying on advice, for example with limits on hours per shift, protected rest breaks and task rotation.
- Focus pre-employment health checks on cardiovascular risk factors, especially for older workers and staff hired at short notice.
- Provide first aiders on every shift, drinking water and a referral route whose travel time has been tested, including for remote sites.
- Record complaints and near misses related to fatigue, so patterns show up before anyone is harmed.
How Nusa Safety Helps
Nusa Safety helps companies prepare first aiders together with licensed PJK3 partners, design and test medical emergency response through Emergency Preparedness and Drills, and assess workload and the work environment through its Ergonomics and Work Environment Assessment.
This article is general information and not legal or professional advice for any specific case.
References
- CNN Indonesia. (2024, February 16). Kemenkes terima laporan 27 petugas KPPS meninggal, terbanyak di Jateng [Health ministry receives reports of 27 polling station officer deaths, most in Central Java]. https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20240216130005-617-1063481/kemenkes-terima-laporan-27-petugas-kpps-meninggal-terbanyak-di-jateng
- Febriansyah, R., & Husnayanti, A. (2019). Analisis beban kerja Kelompok Penyelenggara Pemungutan Suara (KPPS) menggunakan metode FTE (full time equivalent) pada pemilihan umum serentak tahun 2019 di Kabupaten Bangka Tengah [Workload analysis of polling station officers using the full time equivalent method in the 2019 simultaneous election in Central Bangka]. Electoral Governance: Jurnal Tata Kelola Pemilu Indonesia, 1(1), 42-60. https://doi.org/10.46874/tkp.v1i1.15
- Kementerian Kesehatan. (2024, February 14). Waspada kesehatan anggota KPPS [Watch the health of polling station officers]. https://www.kemkes.go.id/eng/waspada-kesehatan-anggota-kpps
- Sagita, N. S. (2024, February 26). Kematian petugas pemilu bertambah jadi 114 kasus, ada yang dipicu dehidrasi [Election worker deaths rise to 114, some triggered by dehydration]. detikHealth. https://health.detik.com/berita-detikhealth/d-7212099/kematian-petugas-pemilu-bertambah-jadi-114-kasus-ada-yang-dipicu-dehidrasi
- World Health Organization. (2021, May 17). Long working hours increasing deaths from heart disease and stroke: WHO, ILO. https://www.who.int/news/item/17-05-2021-long-working-hours-increasing-deaths-from-heart-disease-and-stroke-who-ilo
