Losing candidates suffer depression

Fadli, Batam

At least 10 candidates who failed to get seats in the Batam Legislative Council during the April 5, 2004 legislative election are being treated for severe depression.

They have been undergoing treatment as outpatients at Batam General Hospital in Sekupang for the past three months.

A psychologist at the hospital, Bella Patriajaya, told The Jakarta Post on Friday that the 10 former legislative candidates were suffering from a type of severe depression known in the medical circles as anxiety depression, which results from excessive anxiety and stress due to the loss of a precious or cherished object.

"They initially came to the hospital complaining about what they felt was high blood pressure, But in fact when they were examined their blood pressures was normal. They also complained of being hot-tempered and defecating more frequently than usual. These are some of the symptoms of people who are depressed," said Bella.

She said the depression was likely related to the patients' frustration over their failure to win legislative seats during the election. Some of them had even spent hundreds of millions of rupiah to campaign ahead of the April poll.

"We have been treating them individually for the past three months. The treatment will last for another six months. If there are no changes in six months, it could mean they are so severely depressed it could lead to insanity," said Bella.

She declined, however, to name the candidates or their political parties.

A member of the Batam General Elections Commission (KPU), Arifin, said it was not surprising that some former legislative candidates were suffering from depression.

Of the 635 candidates contesting the legislative election in Batam, only 45 were elected, he added.

"Many of them had not even passed the administrative screening process, but they later came to the KPU and pleaded to be allowed to join the election because they had spent a lot of money to be listed as legislative candidates," said Arifin.

He said some of them had even sold their homes, cars and land and borrowed hundreds of million of rupiah to campaign.