Sharjah24 – Reuters: South Korean poll officials scrambled to revamp voting plans for Wednesday's election after early voting was marred by long waits outside polls stations for covonavirus sufferers, while other voters received ballots already marked.
A record turnout of nearly 37% in two-day absentee voting that ended on Saturday highlights a tight race in which Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party faces off against Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative main opposition People Power Party. Read full story
As daily COVID-19 infections hover near unprecedented levels above 200,000 and more than 1 million receive treatment at home, parliament passed a legislative amendment to ease in-person voting by such patients.
But chaos erupted at many polling places during Saturday's special early voting for infected voters, prompting repeated apologies from the National Election Commission (NEC) for failing to ensure a stable and orderly process.
President Moon Jae-in had expressed regret on Sunday, asking the NEC to fully explain the errors and guarantee all people's right to vote, his spokeswoman said.
The chaos at many polling places was a blow for South Korea, tarnishing a 35-year democratic history of tight and relatively transparent management of elections, and a mostly successful fight on COVID-19.
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