By Lee Tae-hoon
Millions of people in 42 electoral districts across the country, including Seoul, headed to polling stations Wednesday to pick replacements for local government and council representatives.
According to the National Election Commission (NEC), 33.0 percent of 10.02 million eligible voters nationwide cast their ballots as of 4. p.m., up a respective 2.9 percent and 7.7 percent compared to the last two by-elections.
Wednesday’s voter participation was higher than the previous by-elections due largely to the heated contest for the vacant mayoral seat of Seoul which accounts for 83.5 percent or 8.37 million of the voters.
The voter turnout in Seoul was 34.7 percent.
Pre-election polls suggested that the mayoral race in the capital would be a neck-and-neck race between Na Kyung-won of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), and Park Won-soon, a unified candidate from the opposition camp.
Jung-gu, a central district of Seoul where Na served as a lawmaker until she resigned last month to register as a mayoral candidate, had the highest turnout rate in the capital with 37.5 percent.
NEC officials said the high voter participation reflected the political significance of the Seoul race, which can be seen as a litmus test on public sentiment ahead of crucial parliamentary and presidential elections in April and December next year, respectively.
They estimated that the final voter turnout for the by-elections would exceed 40 percent, possibly the highest rate ever recorded in the past decade, given that the provisional tally did not count votes cast between 4 p.m. and at 8 p.m.
The highest turnout in by-elections since 2000 was 41.9 percent on Oct. 25, 2001. The final turnout of the Seoul mayor election on June 2, 2010, in which GNP candidate Oh Se-hoon defeated Han Myeong-sook of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) by 0.6 percentage points, was 53.9 percent.
Unlike nationwide elections, such as the presidential poll, by-elections are not recognized as a public holiday and their average turnout has been below 30 percent.
The provisional tallies at 4 p.m. were the highest in Ulleung, South Gyeongsang Province, with 62.0 percent; and Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, with 61.8 percent.
The turnout in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, remained the lowest among the 42 constituencies with 8 percent,
The DP, which holds 87 seats in the 299-member unicameral legislature, and other opposition parties did not field a candidate for the mayoral race because independent Park defeated liberal-party affiliated contenders in a convention to select a unified opposition candidate.
Observers say a victory for judge-turned-politician Na would be a boon for the presidential ambition of former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye, who staked much of her political career in this election by supporting Na throughout the campaign rallies.
Park, daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee, had refrained from making public appearances over the past several years.
If Na fails to clinch the seat, which has been vacant since the incumbent Oh resigned after failing to stop an opposition-led free school lunch program, it could deal a serious blow to the former GNP leader and her party.
The GNP currently controls the majority of 168 seats in the National Assembly.
Political pundits say activist Park’s victory in the mayoral race will lay a cornerstone for any political ambitions held by doctor-turned-software mogul Ahn Cheol-soo, who openly backed the liberal lawyer.
Ahn declined to run in the mayoral race in September and instead endorsed the activist, despite his support rate surpassing that of any of the potential candidates, including Na.