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| National Election Commission Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee holds an emergency meeting at the election watchdog's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Joint Press Corps |
Mishandling of patients' ballots may trigger backlash after election
By Nam Hyun-woo
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The decision comes after the election watchdog took criticism for its improper handling of COVID-19 patients' ballots during early voting on Saturday, as NEC workers collected patients' votes in unofficial containers, sparking concerns about the integrity of the election.
Despite the NEC's new guidelines, a backlash may occur after the election, as the presidential race is expected to be the closest one in Korea's history.
During its emergency meeting, the NEC decided to allow coronavirus patients to put their completed ballots in the ballot boxes by themselves from 6 p.m., Wednesday, after the regular polling ends. COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine are allowed to vote from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
During the early voting period on Saturday, COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine began filling in votes from 5 p.m. while other voters were also still casting their ballots. To avoid contact between them, the NEC required COVID-19 patients to vote in separate polling booths and election workers collected their votes in paper bags, parcel boxes and even plastic trash bags, and put the ballots into the official ballot boxes on behalf of the voters.
This situation triggered complaints from voters and disturbances in polling stations across the country, as they said they could not confirm whether their ballots had been placed into the ballot boxes properly. Rival parties slammed the NEC's clumsy voting operations, and President Moon Jae-in also expressed regret over the situation.
According to the new guidelines, coronavirus patients and those in quarantine will enter polling stations after the voting time for non-patients ends, and they will use the same polling booths and voting stamps.
"The NEC failed to estimate the number of COVID-19 patients voting early and come up with a proper operation plan," the NEC said in a statement while announcing the new guidelines. "We apologize for causing any disturbance or inconvenience to the public. The NEC chairperson and its members are fully responsible for the shortcomings, and we will thoroughly prepare measures to prevent a recurrence."
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| Lee Jong-bae, head of the civic group Citizens' Coalition for Constitutionalism, holds an envelope full of complaints against the National Election Commission before filing it with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho District, Monday. Yonhap |
Despite the apology and the new guidelines, the early voting problems on Saturday are anticipated to trigger a political backlash.
On Monday, a number of civic groups filed complaints with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office against NEC officials, including Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee, for abusing their authority, neglecting their duties and violating the Public Official Election Act.
"The NEC has left voters' ballots unattended by carrying them with paper boxes or trash bags, and this is a shocking compromise of the election and a violation of the Constitution," the Citizens' Coalition for Constitutionalism, a civic group, said in its statement while filing its complaints.
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) demanded the resignation of NEC Chairperson Noh, as well as blaming President Moon for the NEC's inadequate preparations.
"The chief of the NEC should take full responsibility for Saturday's fiasco and resign immediately after Wednesday's election," PPP floor leader Kim Gi-hyeon said Monday. "Moon is also responsible for allowing the NEC to manage the election unfairly."
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) also criticized the NEC for its negligence in managing the early voting period, but refrained from saying more, in an apparent move to prevent the controversy from being framed as an election fraud conspiracy.
"I also agree with the PPP's demand for the NEC chief's resignation," DPK Chairman Song Young-gil said in a radio interview. "We warned the NEC about the mishandling of ballots, but we don't agree with the opposition party's claim that it was orchestrated corruption."
Anticipation is growing that there could be protests over the election outcome, because the top two rival candidates ― the DPK's Lee Jae-myung and the PPP's Yoon Suk-yeol ― have been in a dead-heat race within the margin of error in the latest surveys.
The turnout for the two-day early voting period for the presidential election ended with a record high of 36.93 percent.
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