Failed candidates depressed - Many candidates who failed to secure votes in the recent legislative election have become depressed after reportedly giving everything they had, including personal funds, in their efforts to win votes.
Recent reports from across the country have shown that of 6,600 legislative candidates running for seats in the House of Representatives, a handful have fallen into depression, displayed maniacal tendencies, or even resorted to suicide due to the losses they suffered.
On Sunday, Antara news agency reported that 50-year-old Muhammad Taufiq, who was running for a legislative position, became frustrated after learning that he had not obtained enough votes to secure a seat.
Accompanied by a friend, Taufiq went to a polling station in Cekocek hamlet, Sampang regency, Madura, East Java, and snatched a ballot box as officials were counting votes.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie said that Taufiq and his friend took the box to a relative’s house, before being caught by Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) officials.
One of many other reports of frustrated candidates came from Tulungagung, East Java, where Miftahul Huda, a legislative candidate from the Hanura Party, had donated a sum of money to build a local mosque.
Miftahul demanded that the mosque return his money when he discovered he had lost in the election after gaining only 29 votes in his area of Majan village.
A tragic report came from Banjar, West Java, where a young mother hanged herself after losing in the legislative election. Local residents found her body in a bamboo hut in Limusnunggal hamlet, Ciamis
regency, West Java.
The world’s third-largest democracy, after India and the US, held a legislative election on April 9 in which voters cast their ballots to elect 560 legislators to the House as well as more than 18,000 local councilors.
Candidates for local councils spent at least Rp 100 million (US$8,761) each on campaigning, selling most of their assets and draining their personal savings.
Psychologist Tika Bisono said that depression and other mental health problems among defeated legislative candidates was a predictable issue that occurred due to a lack of clear criteria from political parties.
“So it turns out that everyone should prepare a huge amount of money to run [as a legislative candidate] but then, when they fail, it’s possible that they will become depressed,” Tika told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
She said that political parties should be responsible for accommodating their candidates, including handling their problems if they were not elected.
According to Tika, some depressed candidates had not prepared adequately prior to campaigning, meaning they risked all of their savings to win seats. However, Tika expressed her hope that candidates’ family members would support them during the healing process.
Meanwhile, political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, said that some of the failed candidates did not have any experience working for the people in their areas.
“These candidates are so passionate, but they have never had [...] experience working on the ground and meeting their constituents, otherwise they would have been better known and would have gained votes,” Ikrar said.
He further said that political parties should fix their recruitment systems, including considering their candidates’ networks, financial capacity and track records. “People should be realistic when they decide to run for legislative positions,” he added.
According to a 2010 data from the Health Ministry, as quoted by tribunnews.com, the national election in 2009 resulted in 7,376 from the total number of legislative candidates being diagnosed with mental health issues.
Jojo Rohi, deputy secretary-general for the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), said that based on the 2009 election, Indonesia would see a similar trend after the 2014 legislative election, due to the high price commanded of legislative hopefuls.
“We have to challenge all party leaders to warn the public not to vote for candidates who promise to give money,” Jojo said, as quoted by tribunnews.com. (gda)
This article originally appeared in : Failed candidates depressed |The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Election Watch | Mon, April 14 2014, 8:59 AM
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