With A Heavy Heart, Komnas HAM Accept The Decision Of The Pilkada To Continue During The Pandemic Period

Illustrations (Photo: Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), reluctantly accepts the implementation of the 2020 regional elections, which will be continued by the Government, DPR, and the General Election Commission (KPU).

Head of Komnas HAM Pilkada Monitoring Team, Hairansyah, said that his party initially asked the Pilkada to be postponed because he saw many prospective pairs of candidates who violated health protocols during the registration period.

"During the pandemic, awareness is needed. To avoid crowds. On the other hand, the Pilkada has created a crowd. This is what we then asked to postpone," said Hairansyah in a webinar discussion, Tuesday, September 29.

However, the election was decided to go ahead. Meanwhile, the increasing number of COVID-19 cases has not yet shown a slowdown of cases. On the other hand, the capacity of health workers is also deemed inadequate.

"In fact, the development is certainly not encouraging enough. Because on the one hand, government policies in handling COVID-19 appear hobbled and ineffective," he said.

Health rights take precedence over political rights

On the other hand, the United Nations (UN) has indeed issued guidelines regarding the implementation of elections during a pandemic. This is because there are many countries that also hold democratic parties this year.

However, the United Nations provides an important note for the organizing state of elections during a pandemic, that public safety and health is the main thing.

"Indeed, the continuation of the democratic process remains an important part. The right to vote and be elected is part of human rights. But on the other hand, returning to the anchor is the highest human being, namely public health or safety," explained Hairansyah.

Therefore, Hairansyah asked all ranks of the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) to fairly oversee the implementation of the 2020 Pilkada, in accordance with statutory regulations, and ensure that health protocols are implemented by all parties.