South Korea: National Assembly begins procedure for potential probe on election ballot shortage

Seoul, June 11 (IANS) South Korea’s National Assembly on Thursday launched formal procedures for a potential parliamentary investigation into ballot shortages reported during last week’s local elections, with requests for the probe submitted by both the ruling and opposition parties being reported to a plenary session.

The head of the Proceedings Division of the National Assembly Secretariat said that the requests for a parliamentary probe were submitted separately by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), with all lawmakers from each party sponsoring their respective requests, reports Yonhap news agency.

The move marks the step toward establishing a special parliamentary committee to examine allegations of mismanagement by the National Election Commission during the voting process.

The establishment of the committee is expected to undergo negotiations, as proposals from the DP and the PPP differed over the scope of the probe and the number of seats to be allotted to each party on the committee.

The PPP has also argued that a separate special counsel probe should be launched alongside the parliamentary investigation, while the DP has maintained that such a move should be considered after the parliamentary probe.

The move comes after ballot shortages were reported at more than a dozen polling stations in Seoul during last Wednesday’s local elections, temporarily disrupting voting and prompting protests by people alleging election fraud.

Meanwhile, police on Thursday raided the National Election Commission (NEC) and some of its local offices in Seoul as part of an investigation into shortages of ballots during last week’s local elections.

More than 100 police investigators were mobilised for the searches and seizures at seven locations, including the NEC’s headquarters in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, and its local offices in Seoul that experienced the ballot shortages.

The shortages temporarily suspended voting at 26 polling stations nationwide, mostly in Seoul’s Songpa Ward, during the June 3 local elections, according to the NEC.

Police are investigating the NEC and its local offices on suspicion of election law violations and dereliction of duty in connection with the ballot paper shortages.

The incident prompted protesters to gather around a vote-counting facility in Songpa Ward to demand a re-run of the elections for the seventh straight day.

The search and seizure warrant is said to list former NEC Chairman Rho Tae-ak, who stepped down from his post over the debacle, as a suspect in the case.

Investigators plan to secure evidence through the simultaneous raids and determine the cause of the ballot shortages.

“Through today’s search and seizure, we are focusing on securing evidence to determine the material truth of the case, including identifying the cause of the infringement of the people’s political rights,” the police said.

–IANS

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