South Korea's election watchdog is hastening its preparations for a rare presidential by-election to pick the successor of ousted President Park Geun-hye.
The government fixed the voting date to May 9 last week after Park was dismissed on March 10 in a corruption scandal.
Officials at the National Election Commission attending a meeting to crack down on fake news ahead of the May 9 presidential election at the commission's building in Gwacheon, some 18 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
According to the National Election Commission, political parties' presidential candidates have to formally register on April 15 and 16. Should public servants want to run in the election, they have to resign by April 9, or a month before election day.
The candidates' official 22-day campaign period was set to kick off on April 17.
Overseas Korean citizens who want to cast their ballots must register as absentee voters by March 30, or 40 days before the election day. They are to vote from April 25-30 in 204 polling stations in 116 countries.
Sailors will cast their votes aboard their ships from May 1-4.
Advance voting will take place from May 4-5 in 3,500 polling stations across the country.
In line with its election administration timetable, the NEC will put up election posters in some 87,000 locations across the country by April 22.
It will also send election booklets containing information on candidates and their election pledges to voters by April 25. It will also deliver pamphlets carrying information on polling stations and voting methods to voters by April 29.
On election day, the voting will begin at 6 a.m. and end at 8 p.m. The day has been designated as a public holiday.
The NEC has vowed to administer the rare presidential by-election in a fair, transparent manner. To this end, it plans to carry out a tough crackdown on the dissemination of "fake news" and ill-founded rumors about candidates.
The election, which was originally scheduled for Dec. 20, has been moved up to May 9 due to the Constitutional Court's ruling on March 10 to dismiss Park over a massive corruption scandal. (Yonhap)
