Indonesia holds first nationwide simultaneous regional elections

A man votes at a polling station in flood water in Tanjung Gusta village of North Sumatra Province, Indonesia, Nov. 27, 2024. Indonesia held regional elections, which include provinces, cities, and regencies on Wednesday. (Photo by Irsan Mulyadi/Xinhua)
JAKARTA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) — Indonesia held local elections on Wednesday to select governors, mayors, and regents, marking the country’s first-ever simultaneous elections across all regions.
The elections were conducted in the country’s 37 provinces, 93 cities, and 415 regencies, spanning over 17,000 islands and three different time zones. More than 204 million voters cast their ballots at polling stations to elect a total of 545 pairs of candidates.
Voting began at 7 a.m. Jakarta time and concluded at 1 p.m., with vote counting starting immediately and expected to continue until Dec. 16.
Indonesia’s election commission has not yet announced the specific dates to release the results. However, the inauguration of elected governors and vice governors is scheduled for Feb. 7, 2025, while mayors, regents, and their deputies are set to be sworn in on Feb. 10. ■