February 8, 2024
JAKARTA – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced on Tuesday that Feb. 14 will be a national holiday to allow for citizens to vote in the general election.
The decision was formalized in a new presidential regulation signed by the President on Tuesday and is effective immediately.
The presidential regulation was issued as an implementation of Article 167 of the 2023 Elections Law stipulating that voting day should be made a national holiday.
Earlier the Labor Ministry issued a regulation to allow workers to take the day off on Election Day and that employers must pay them for overtime if they come into work on Feb. 14.
Indonesia will hold simultaneous presidential and legislative elections on Feb. 14.
There are roughly 205 million registered voters and turnout in past elections has been about 75 percent, according to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
Political parties need 4 percent of the vote to qualify for the House of Representatives. A presidential candidate needs more than 50 percent of the votes cast overall and at least 20 percent of the vote in more than half the country’s provinces to win.
If no one manages that, a runoff presidential election will be held in June between the two candidates with the most votes. The next president will take office in October.