It is pointed out that the chaos that occurred during the preliminary voting process for those who were confirmed and quarantined for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on the 5th was a ‘predicted disaster’ caused by the negligent response of the National Election Commission. Even though an explosive increase in the number of confirmed cases was predicted, the National Election Commission revealed overall poor voting management, ranging from failure to predict the scale of advance voting and voting time per person, as well as lack of publicity.
● “The National Election Commission is in direct violation of the Public Official Election Act”
The core of the controversy lies in the fact that confirmed and quarantined voters were unable to put their ballot papers directly into the ballot box. The problem was caused by the provision of a temporary voting booth for confirmed cases so that even confirmed and quarantined persons might vote from 5 pm on the 5th, but the voting clerks received the confirmed cases’ ballot papers and put them in the ballot box instead. In particular, the possibility of manipulation has been raised as the temporary voting booth envelope containing the ballot papers voted by the confirmed person is not sealed, but is placed in a courier box, shopping bag, plastic basket, or plastic bag. However, when the National Election Commission announced the voting measures on February 25, it only stated that “provisional voting booths are to be installed separately for confirmed and quarantined persons.” was not explicitly disclosed.
The National Election Commission is of the opinion that Article 151 (2) of the Public Official Election Act was followed, ‘You cannot use two ballot boxes at the same time for each voting district in one election’. In a statement issued on the morning of the 6th, the National Election Commission said in a statement issued on the morning of the 6th, “The self-quarantine vote on election day was conducted in the same way in the 21st National Assembly election and the April 7, 2021 by-election. Due to restrictions on polling station facilities, etc., there was insufficient management of early voting for confirmed electors.”
In fact, the National Election Commission violated Article 157, Paragraph 4 of the Public Official Election Act, stipulating that ‘an elector must enter a voting booth following receiving a ballot paper and place a ballot, then fold the ballot content out of sight to others and put it in the ballot box in front of the voting observers’. There are also comments. The Korean Bar Association said, “This incident, which ignores the fundamental principles of democratic elections of direct and secret ballot, has greatly damaged the sovereign’s right to vote.” The People’s Livelihood Countermeasures Committee, a civic group, filed a complaint with the prosecution on the same day that Roh Jeong-hee, chairman of the National Election Commission, was charged with abuse of power and violation of the Public Official Election Act.
● The National Election Commission to create alternatives in a hurry
The situation was further exacerbated by the fact that the National Election Commission erroneously predicted the number of voters for confirmed and quarantined persons at 20 per polling place and 5 minutes per person for voting. At the National Assembly’s Administrative Safety Committee held on the 9th of last month, lawmakers from the opposition and opposition parties raised concerns regarding the surge in confirmed cases due to mutations in Omicron. Nevertheless, Kim Se-hwan, secretary-general of the National Election Commission, insisted, “We have done numerically and precisely (calculated)” and “in many places (in the case of Seoul, where there are confirmed and quarantined voters), up to 40 people are waiting in consultation with the quarantine authorities. , moving lines, etc. can be separated.” In the end, it is pointed out that due to a misjudgment by the National Election Commission, the confirmed cases who took the early voting on the 5th waited for an hour or two in the cold, and collapsed at the polling station and transferred to the hospital. Another problem is that the meeting did not discuss how to transfer the ballot papers of confirmed and quarantined people to the ballot box.
It was found that the National Election Commission did not count the number of confirmed and quarantined people who participated in the early voting on the 5th. An official from the National Election Commission said, “We did not receive a separate list of confirmed and quarantined persons from the quarantine authorities, and we did not count them at the scene.”
In a report on pending issues of the National Election Commission held at the National Assembly this followingnoon amid strong criticism from the ruling and opposition parties, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Election Commission Park Chan-jin said, “We made two proposals (related to voting for confirmed and quarantined persons) and convened an emergency committee of the National Election Commission tomorrow at 10 o’clock.” In the current issue report, it is reported that the ruling and opposition parties agreed to eliminate the temporary voting booths and use the existing polling stations as the circulation of the confirmed cases starts at 6 pm on the day of the main voting (the 9th). If the general ballot box usage policy is finally confirmed, even those who have been confirmed and quarantined on the 9th will be able to directly put in their ballot papers.
By Park Hoon-sang, reporter tigermask@donga.com
By Hong Jeong-soo, staff reporter hong@donga.com
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