GNP to exclude 25% of incumbents from nomination

By Chung Min-uck

The ruling Grand National Party’s interim emergency committee has decided to eliminate 25 percent of incumbent lawmakers from its candidate list for the general elections in April.

The party is also seeking to “strategically select” 20 percent of its candidates from capable figures who are not party members yet.

The emergency committee disclosed these and other selection rules largely unfavorable to incumbent lawmakers Monday.

According to party spokesman Rep. Hwang Yeong-chul, lawmakers in each district will be assessed based on two criteria: preference of residents and competitiveness against a rival candidate.

Those achieving less than a 25 percent rating will be replaced, said Hwang.

Additionally, current lawmakers will also be assessed on ethical considerations such as whether they have committed heinous misconduct or been involved in bribery in the past.

``If the legislators fail to meet the requirements, they will be deprived of their right to be selected to run in the general election,” said a committee member asking for anonymity.

Currently, 166 GNP members have parliamentary seats including regional and proportional representatives.

During the 2008 general election, around 40 percent of incumbent GNP lawmakers were replaced.

“I think the core of the emergency committee’s reform plan is the new nomination rules,”Rep. Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the committee, said during a meeting Monday. “If fair and transparent selection is conducted based on the framework and standards that we have proposed, it will be a development of the country’s politics.”

However, observers say that the tough set of rules will likely be resisted by those who have been at odds with the emergency committee since its inauguration last month.

Incumbent lawmakers vulnerable to the new rules are already objecting.

“I am not sure whether an assessment can be conducted objectively,” said a GNP Assemblyman on condition of anonymity.

``I concur that lawmakers need to be assessed, but it should be done precisely and objectively,”said another lawmaker hailing from South Gyeongsang Province.

The GNP is to hold a general meeting of all party members today to discuss the selection rules.

Candidates for proportional representation seats will be partially selected by outsiders too.

The committee reached an agreement to choose 25 percent of these through screening by a panel consisting of the general public, party members and experts.

The process for selecting candidates has usually been done behind closed doors by influential party members.

“The new selection rules reflect the voice of the people who want change and reform,” said Lee Sang-don, an emergency committee member in charge of political reform.

The emergency committee also decided to field female candidates in one-third of the electoral districts, a four-fold increase compared to the general election in 2008.