Condemnation statement issued by alliance of student councils from more than 100 universities

Group calls shortage 'a grave dereliction of duty and challenge to popular sovereignty'

A ballot box is transported to a counting center Friday after police dispersed protesters at Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
A ballot box is transported to a counting center Friday after police dispersed protesters at Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

By Kim Yong-jae, The Herald Business

The National University Student Council Federation, an alliance of student councils from more than 100 universities, on Friday strongly condemned the National Election Commission over a ballot shortage that disrupted voting in the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections, accusing the commission of violating citizens' right to vote and neglecting its duties.

In a formal statement, the federation criticized the commission for failing to guarantee every citizen's vote. "For a constitutional body charged with administering elections to be unable to fully protect the people's right to cast a ballot is a grave dereliction of duty and a direct challenge to popular sovereignty," the statement read, adding that the incident amounted to "the seizure of suffrage that the people have fought hard to defend."

The federation also urged the commission to hold those responsible accountable and to immediately overhaul its election management systems, saying the crisis "cannot be dismissed as confusion at the local level" and that the commission "must clearly acknowledge its responsibility for trampling on popular sovereignty."

According to the National Election Commission, the ballot shortage on Wednesday disrupted voting at 12 polling stations in the Jamsil area of Songpa-gu, one in Gangnam-gu and one in Gwangjin-gu, all in Seoul.

At the affected stations, residents who had been unable to vote by the official closing time of 6 p.m. were issued waiting tickets, and voting hours were extended until 10 p.m.

A standoff lasting more than 30 hours then unfolded outside Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, over a ballot box containing votes from more than 2,000 people. Police eventually dispersed protesters who had blockaded the station and removed the ballot box.


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