Regional Elections, 9 December 2020

Tidal floods (and Covid-19), March–December 2020 

Coastal areas of Indonesia such as Demak district and Semarang City are exposed to all types of flooding and particularly tidal flooding due to sea-level rise and land subsidence. Demak District, for instance, sees 4–12 cm of erosion and land subsidence annually, causing it to sink alongside the sea-level rise and increasing the number of areas expected to flood. The 2020 floods in Demak were partly also caused by coastal development and over-extraction of groundwater. However, tidal flooding is not formally recognized as a disaster according to the law in Indonesia, with implications for emergency and electoral management (Permana 2022). 

Impact on the electoral process  

Indonesia’s 2020 direct local election was held to elect the heads of local government at the provincial and lower (district or municipal) levels in nine provinces, 224 districts and 37 municipalities.  

Unlike Semarang city, Demak was flooded on election day itself. The confirmation of registered voters must be done at the voter’s permanent address as part of the voter registration process. Severe challenges arose for voter data updating officers, primarily because houses were submerged. Tracking voters was challenging as many had either moved or been evacuated (Permana 2022). In response, officers obtained tidal times online to gain access to voters’ homes. In Sayung sub-district, officers used boats to do so (Permana 2022). 

Alternative polling station locations on higher ground were identified with informal advice from local residents of the flooded areas, building on mapping of flood-prone areas ahead of election day—in particular, those prone to tidal floods—by the local election authority in Demak. While this was carried out and communicated in line with national EMB (election management body) regulations, tidal flooding, unlike flooding due to heavy rain, is not defined as a disaster in national law. This meant there were little resources the Demak election body could commit, and no detailed standard operating procedures for elections in these specific conditions (Permana 2022).   

Instead, the national EMB developed an election vulnerability index for counterparts in Demak (taking into account risks related to tidal flooding) which they translated into  internal standard operating procedures. These highlighted voter accessibility, full supervision and safeguarding sensitive voter materials from getting wet, in particular ballot boxes and ballot papers (Permana 2022).   

Some house to house canvassing by political parties did occur, however campaigning in tidal flood-prone areas was reported as minimal (Permana 2022). 

On election day, flooding affected 51 out of the 2,206 polling stations in Demak, with a total of 30 that had to be moved to higher ground due to flooding. All election material had to be wrapped in plastic bags to avoid water damage (Permana 2022). 

Besides the tidal floods, the local EMB introduced health and safety measures in polling stations on election day due to Covid-19 including disinfectants, masks and other personal protective equipment (Permana 2022). 

Voter turnout in both jurisdictions was higher than direct local elections in 2015: In Demak it was 73 per cent (67.5 per cent) and in Semarang it was 68.6 per cent (66 per cent). This pattern was seen even in heavily flood-affected sub-districts (Permana 2022). The government welcomed the national turnout as being above target, at 76.9 per cent (Wibisono 2021).