A By-Election in June Next Year...Concerns Over Administrative Vacancy

Unless current heads of the basic local governments, who will run for the `4·15 General Election` next year, resign from their posts by the end of this month, there might be 8 months of local government administration vacancies as the by-election will be held only in June next year.

This is because under the current election law, the by-election is only allowed twice a year: in the first half and the second half of every year. Also in order to hold a by-election, reasons for the election (resignation of the head and etc…) should occur at least one month prior to the election. Furthermore, holding the general election and the by-election simultaneously is banned.

Therefore, at the end of last month, the National Election Committee submitted a proposal to revise election laws (laws on election for public offices and on election corruption prevention) to allow holding the by-election for the local government head offices and the parliamentarian general election on the same date, in order to minimize administrative vacancies in the local governments.

According to the National Election Committee on Sep 15, the date for the by-election of the second half of this year, which is currently set for Oct 30(the last Thursday of Oct.), will be automatically postponed to April 29 (the last Thursday of April) next year, if resignations by the local government heads are not submitted by a month before the election (Sep 30). Yet, due to the current election law that forbids joint execution of the by-election for the local government head offices and the general election, the by-election is set to be held on June 10 next year, which is 50 days after the general election.

The deadline for resignation of heads of local governments running for the general election is Oct. 18, which is 6 months before the election.

Most heads are expected to delay their announcement as much as they can, to after Sep 30, closely watching the movements of the political sector. Thus, for municipalities and cities, whose heads are standing for the coming general election, 8 months of administrative vacancy, from Oct 18 to June 10 next year, will be unavoidable.

In Kyonggi Province where around 4,5 heads of the local governments are expected to step down for the general election, an official at the election committee said, “I wish the related local heads to resign before the end of this month, in order to minimize the local administrative vacancy.”

bibulus@donga.com