Seoul: South Korea's National Election Commission (NEC) chief official Roh Tae-ak resigned today to take responsibility for the ballot shortages in several districts during Wednesday's local elections, which affected voting and sparked widespread public discontent.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Roh admitted the mistake and offered no excuses, stating that it undermined confidence in the democratic process. He indicated that an external committee of experts would be formed to investigate the true cause.
Officials from the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) admitted that 50 polling stations had run out of ballot papers and required redistribution, while another 22 stations experienced delays due to late ballot delivery. This is out of approximately 14,300 polling stations nationwide.
These irregularities resulted in long queues of voters extending into the late hours, even after polls closed at 6:00 PM. In particular, in Songpa District, Seoul, angry voters surrounded a polling station to prevent officials from moving ballot boxes and staged a protest in the rain overnight until Friday morning. Hundreds of police officers were deployed to protect officials as they retrieved the last two ballot boxes for counting. The official vote counting concluded on Friday afternoon.
South Korea's Election Commission explained that the reason only 50 percent of the eligible voters' ballots were printed for Wednesday's election was due to the anticipated massive early voting in the previous week. The total number of ballots printed over the three voting days accounted for 73 percent of all eligible voters. However, the actual voter turnout this time was as high as 63 percent for the elections of mayors, governors, and local council members.
The ballot shortage crisis has drawn strong condemnation, with the government admitting to a failure to protect fundamental rights of the people. Some right-wing protesters attempted to storm the gymnasium where the final batch of ballots was being counted in Songpa district, demanding a complete recount. Furthermore, local media reported that lawsuits have been filed against election officials for abuse of power and dereliction of duty, and a petition has been filed with the Constitutional Court regarding alleged violations of voting rights.