More than 270 died from overwork-related illnesses in Indonesia elections

FILE PHOTO: A worker arranges flower wreaths and congratulatory boards from people after this week's election outside General Election Commission (KPU) headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 21, 2019. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Ten days after Indonesia held the world's biggest single-day elections, more than 270 election staff have died, mostly of fatigue-related illnesses caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand, an official said on Sunday.

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.