Jakarta. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced Tuesday that he would give a 50-percent rise to the incentives received by those working for the General Election Commission (KPU). 

According to Jokowi, the hike is long overdue, saying that KPU staff's incentives have remained the same since 2014. Indonesia has seen many elections since that year. This includes the most recent one that held the status of the country's largest single-day election.

"Despite the huge responsibility, I'm sorry that you have not received any increase in your incentives since 2014. And I just found out about it yesterday," Jokowi said at a regional election conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“The formula [to decide on the raise] is simple. You just need to count, count, and you will find the best possible rate. And we have decided that it’s a 50 percent rise,” Jokowi said.

Indonesia is inching closer to the regional election, and will soon open the registration for the candidates. Jokowi talked about how KPU members had to prepare for the regional election despite having only concluded the February election.

“I’m sure you are still tired. You have just concluded the [election disputes] at the Constitutional Court. But now the regional election stage will start in just a few days,” Jokowi said.