The National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon. [Yonhap]
The National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon. [Yonhap]

The National Election Commission on Wednesday rejected complaints filed by the People Power Party over the Seoul mayoral race and other contests from the June 3 local elections, dismissing claims that ballot shortages and voting suspensions had tainted the results. The PPP said it would defy the ruling and pursue election-nullification lawsuits.

The NEC said in a press release Wednesday that it had reviewed 261 complaints seeking to nullify election results or invalidate candidacies across gubernatorial, mayoral, education superintendent and proportional-representation metropolitan council races from the June 3 local elections, rejecting 112 and dismissing 149 on procedural grounds.

On the PPP's complaint over the Seoul mayoral race, the NEC found that some polling stations had violated election rules — including ballot shortages and voting suspensions. However, it rejected the complaint, saying "these facts cannot be seen as having affected the election outcome."

The NEC also rejected PPP complaints over the Seoul Metropolitan Council proportional-representation race, the Busan mayoral and Busan Metropolitan Council proportional-representation races, the Incheon mayoral and Incheon Metropolitan Council proportional-representation races, and the Ulsan mayoral and Ulsan Metropolitan Council proportional-representation races.

Complaints filed by the PPP over the Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial and Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly proportional-representation races, the North Chungcheong Province gubernatorial and provincial assembly proportional-representation races, and the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city mayoral and council proportional-representation races were likewise rejected.

Complaints filed by the Reform Party over the Seoul Metropolitan Council proportional-representation race, the Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Incheon mayoral races, and the Gyeonggi gubernatorial race were all rejected as well.

The NEC found that violations of election rules did exist in the Seoul, Busan and Incheon mayoral races and the Gyeonggi gubernatorial race.

An NEC official said Article 6, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act requires the state to take necessary measures to ensure voters can exercise their right to vote, and that voting suspensions could be considered a violation of that provision.

By contrast, the NEC found no election rule violations in the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city mayoral, Ulsan mayoral and North Chungcheong gubernatorial races. Because no voting suspensions had occurred in those races, the NEC said there was no need to separately assess whether the results had been affected.

The NEC had previously rejected or dismissed on procedural grounds similar complaints filed by ordinary voters over the Seoul mayoral race and other contests. With its complaints now rejected, the PPP said it plans to file election-nullification lawsuits as a party.

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok, speaking to Yonhap before the NEC announced its decision Wednesday, was asked whether the party would pursue litigation if its complaints were rejected. "We'll have to go to court," he said.

PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik told reporters at the National Assembly that the party would "look into filing a lawsuit," adding that if it does, the grounds could include not only the ballot shortage crisis but also recently disclosed allegations of computer system manipulation.

The PPP is expected to file the nullification suits after a Supreme Council decision, without convening an additional general assembly of lawmakers, given that it already gathered internal consensus through a general assembly when it first filed the complaints.

The Reform Party said it would decide whether to file nullification suits after a legal review. Any party wishing to contest the NEC's rejection or procedural dismissal may file suit in court within 10 days of receiving the written decision.


quq@heraldcorp.com