Losing candidates suffer depression

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.