Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Cho Seung-rae has strongly criticized the "ranked-choice voting" system introduced as the rule for the party leadership race, calling it "a violation of the party constitution and bylaws." Cho served as secretary-general, a key party post, under the leadership of former party leader Jung Chung-rae.
In a post on his Facebook page Monday, Cho argued, "Introducing ranked-choice voting for electing the party leader at the Aug. 17 national convention is a violation of the party constitution and bylaws. It should either be withdrawn, or the party constitution and bylaws must be amended if it is to be implemented."
Cho pointed out, "When a rotating primary is held, the results of the voting by eligible party members are announced through a vote count." He continued, "So it is unclear whether they intend to partially count the votes of eligible party members, or to count all of the first, second, and third rankings." He added, "It also does not conform to the general principles of voting and counting. For the election of floor leader, National Assembly speaker, and deputy speaker, when a runoff is held, the results of the first round are not announced. And since the runoff is conducted within a short time of about one to two hours, there is no confusion."
Cho bolstered his argument by citing Articles 25 and 66 of the party constitution, which govern the election of the party leader and supreme council members. Each provision contains content on the grounds and methods for runoff voting.
He countered, "There may be an argument that ranked-choice voting is one method of runoff voting. But the bylaws specify ranked-choice voting and runoff voting each as independent voting methods. In this respect, the argument that ranked-choice voting is one method of runoff voting is wrong."
Cho said, "Let me say it again: to implement ranked-choice voting, either the runoff provision for leader selection in the party constitution must be removed, or ranked-choice voting must be clearly defined in the bylaws as one method of runoff voting." He added, "Rather than shaking the party and the national party convention preparation committee by claiming that the convention is not being managed fairly, I hope the party members' convention proceeds calmly according to the agreed procedures of the party constitution and bylaws, regardless of advantage or disadvantage."
Earlier, the preparation committee decided at its third plenary meeting Sunday to determine the party leader-elect at the national convention through the "ranked-choice voting" system. Under ranked-choice voting, voters submit their first through third preferences for party leader candidates, and until a candidate wins a majority, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated and their votes are redistributed to the remaining candidates according to preference order. In a runoff, if the first-place candidate fails to win a majority, a re-vote is held between the first- and second-place candidates to select the final winner.
