Election result may be known by 2 a.m. Wednesday
Citizens vote at Seoul Station on May 4, the first day of the early voting period, in the 19th presidential election. / Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
The result of Korea’s 19th presidential election on Tuesday is expected to take shape as early as 2 a.m. the next day, hours later than the previous election.
Voting is open until 8 p.m., two hours longer than the last election in December 2012.
The longer hours are expected to attract more voters and contribute to the anticipated delay, according to the National Election Commission.
Ballot counting begins 8:30 p.m. and is expected to continue until 7 a.m. the next day.
About 70-80 percent of ballots will be counted by 2 a.m., allowing a reliable prediction.
Counting in the previous election had predicted Park Geun-hye’s victory before 9 p.m.
Intermittent predictions during vote counting, based on exit polls nationwide, will also take more time this year because of the high turnout ― 26 percent, or more than 11 million ― from the early voting on May 4 and 5.
A longer ballot size will also delay the election result. The record 15 candidates are listed on a 28.5-centimeter-long ballot paper.
In the last election, the seven candidates were listed on a 15.6-centimeter ballot paper.
The longer length will restrict ballot-counting machines to 190 ballots per minute instead of 310 previously.