People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Song Eon-seok on Wednesday demanded that the National Election Commission (NEC) immediately halt the vote count in Seoul following a ballot shortage at some polling stations during the local elections.
"We clearly demand that the National Election Commission immediately halt the vote count for the Seoul election," Song said at an emergency press conference at the party's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, that afternoon. "We formally request that the election be postponed under Article 196 of the Public Official Election Act."
Article 196 of the election law stipulates that when a local election cannot be held or has not been held due to natural disasters or other unavoidable circumstances, the chairperson of the relevant district election commission must postpone the election in consultation with the head of the local government.
"An unprecedented situation has occurred today in Seoul, where voters were unable to cast their ballots due to a shortage of ballot papers," Song said. "The scale of the damage is considerable, and at this point it is difficult to even gauge the extent of the damage."
"This is a serious violation of voting rights and political participation rights," he continued. "There are also significant doubts about whether ballot papers are being properly managed in the process of urgently transporting them from other locations." He added, "With voting being conducted after 6 p.m., the official voting deadline, the possibility cannot be ruled out that exit poll results could influence voting."
"The National Election Commission has issued an apology message, but this is not a matter that can simply be resolved with an apology from the commission," Song stressed. "It is a serious matter that gravely undermines the fairness of the election."
Earlier that afternoon, voters were left waiting at some polling stations in Seoul's Gangnam, Gwangjin, and Songpa districts due to a shortage of ballot papers for the local elections. At the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station in Songpa District, voting hours were extended from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for those who had been issued waiting tickets.
