More than 6,000 people protested this Friday at a vote counting center in Seoul due to a lack of electoral ballots, demanding that a new vote be held after local elections were interrupted, Yonhap news agency reported.
The crowd gathered at the SK Olympic Handball Stadium, where votes were counted in Wednesday’s elections for mayors, provincial governors, county officials and members of local assemblies, Yonhap reported, citing unofficial police estimates of the size of the event.
Live broadcasts showed protesters chanting and carrying signs with the slogan ‘Re-run!’, along with national flags. Seoul police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hours earlier, the head of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) had said he would resign from his position to take responsibility for the lack of electoral ballots in some districts.
Roh Tae-ak said there is no excuse for a failure that damaged the public and their commitment to the democratic process and, understandably, generated distrust.
Voting ballots ran out at 50 of the 14,300 polling locations and had to be restocked, while voting was halted at 22 locations due to delays in receiving supplies, an NEC official later said at a press conference.
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