SEOUL: South Korean riot police said Friday (June 5) they had cleared protesters from outside a Seoul polling station after a 35-hour blockade triggered by a ballot shortage.
More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside a polling station in Seoul's Jamsil 7-dong on Thursday, according to Yonhap, some holding signs that read, "stop the vote count!" and "invalidate the election!" as they attempted to block at least two ballot boxes from being removed.
Electoral staff were also forced to stay inside polling stations until Friday morning, according to South Korea's state broadcaster KBS.
Police could be seen physically removing demonstrators blocking entrances to the polling station, in live footage streamed on Friday by local media, with some protesters shouting and attempting to resist arrest.
"Is this really a country governed by the rule of law?" one man could be heard saying, as officers ordered demonstrators to clear the way.
The boxes, containing about 2,000 ballots, have now been secured and transported to a counting centre, authorities said.
The National Election Commission (NEC) was forced to issue an apology after 14 polling stations in Seoul ran short of ballot papers on Wednesday in an unprecedented mishap blamed on its failure to anticipate voter turnout.
Some stations remained open until 10:00 pm (1300 GMT) to allow voters to cast their ballots, but the measure did little to contain criticism over the commission's handling of the election.
The elections were widely seen as an early test of President Lee Jae Myung's first year in office.
He took over after months of political upheaval triggered by his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived declaration of martial law.
Lee's ruling Democratic Party swept most races but failed to flip the crucial Seoul mayoral seat.
President Lee on Thursday ordered an investigation into the ballot shortage, condemning "a flaw that is difficult to accept".
People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok, whose party suffered a heavy local election defeat after Yoon's martial law declaration, visited the NEC on Thursday and said the election should be rerun.
After declaring martial law, former president Yoon -- now jailed and on trial for insurrection -- claimed the NEC had ignored warnings about North Korean threats to voter data and failed to cooperate fully with intelligence agency inspections.
Yoon's claims resonated with right-wing YouTubers and supporters, who went on to spread unverified election fraud theories and questioning the commission's credibility. - AFP
