South Korea's political parties are moving to file petitions with the election authorities to hold an election do-over before the Wednesday deadline.
On Monday, floor leader Rep. Chun Ha-ram and supreme council member Kim Jung-chul of the minor conservative Reform Party filed election petitions challenging the local election results of 18 jurisdictions, including those for Seoul and Busan mayor, and the Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial election.
Though many have reportedly filed related complaints, the Reform Party is the first South Korean political party to officially challenge the outcome of the June 3 local elections.
This comes amid snowballing controversies after dozens of polling stations nationwide experienced ballot shortages on Election Day. The confusion forced some voters to wait in line for hours until ballots were replaced.
The election jurisdictions selected are where the minor party registered its candidates, Chun told reporters before the National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, urging rival parties to join.
Later on Monday, the main opposition People Power Party approved its plan to file petitions with the authorities to call for an "all-out election rerun" in regions that suffered election ballot shortages as the party convened an extraordinary supreme council meeting in the evening.
According to the People Power Party, the election jurisdictions of Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Gwangju, Ulsan and Gyeonggi Province will be subject to its complaint.
People Power Party chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, who convened Monday's extraordinary meeting, has consistently called for the election do-over to attack the ruling bloc.
Under the Public Official Election Act, petitions challenging an election must be filed within two weeks of the Election Day. The election commission must then make its decision within 60 days of receiving the petition.
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