The National Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap News
South Korea’s National Election Commission has rejected or dismissed all 261 petitions filed to nullify elections or invalidate winners in the June 3 local elections, the commission said on the 18th. In cases where voting was suspended at some polling stations because of a ballot shortage, the commission acknowledged a violation of election rules but concluded it had not affected the outcome.
The commission said it rejected 112 of the 261 petitions and dismissed the other 149. The petitions concerned races for metropolitan mayors and provincial governors, education superintendents, and proportional-representation seats in metropolitan councils held during the June 3 vote.
As a result, the People Power Party’s petitions seeking to nullify the elections for Seoul mayor, the integrated mayor of South Jeolla and Gwangju, Busan mayor, Incheon mayor, Ulsan mayor, Gyeonggi governor and North Chungcheong governor were all rejected. The commission had earlier rejected or dismissed similar petitions filed by ordinary voters over the Seoul mayoral race and other contests.
On the cases in which voting was suspended at some polling stations because of a ballot shortage, the commission acknowledged that election rules had been violated. It rejected the petitions, however, after concluding that the violation could not be seen as having affected the outcome, including who won or lost among the candidates.
Petitioners who dispute the commission’s decisions may file suit in court within 10 days of receiving the written ruling.