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More than 270 election staff in Indonesia have died, mostly due to fatigue-related illnesses caused by long hours of working, counting millions of ballot papers by hand.
The April 17 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.
Voting is estimated to have drawn 80% of the population who each had to punch up to five ballot papers in over 800 000 polling stations.
According to the General Elections Commission, the Health Ministry has issued a circular letter urging health facilities to give utmost care for sick election staff, while the Finance Ministry is working on compensation for families of the deceased.
