The General Election Commission (KPU) has confirmed that the election day for the 2020 Regional Head Elections (Pilkada) on Wednesday 9th December 2020 is a national holiday that applies nationwide.
KPU Commissioner I Dewa Kade Wiarsa Raka Sandi said this was stated in Law Number 8 of 2015 concerning Pilkada. Article 84 paragraph three of the Regional Head Elections Law states that voting is carried out on public holidays.
In a meeting at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta, on Wednesday 18th November KPU Commissioner Hasyim Asy’ari also confirmed this. Hasyim even said that holidays do not only apply to regions that hold regional elections.
“Later, a presidential decree will be issued regarding national holidays that will not only apply in the areas holding regional elections but all over Indonesia,” as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
The simultaneous Regional Head Elections 2020 will be held on 9th December, including the largest number of regions and will be the first election during the pandemic. There will be 270 elections in one day with a total of 100,359,152 voters in 309 districts or cities involved in the regional election.