Opposition parties abundant in general election candidates

Posted on : 2011-12-26 11:54 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Over three times more UDP or UPP candidates than GDP’s registered in Seoul and Incheon

By Lee Tae-hee, Staff Writer

The competition for spots in next year’s general election has in two weeks surpassed 3.5 registered hopeful candidates to spot. In Seoul, Incheon and other places in the capital region, there are many more candidates for the Unified Democratic and Unified Progressive parties than there are for the Grand National Party, revealing a bend towards the opposition. In Busan there are also more candidates for the Unified Democratic and Unified Progressive parties than for the GNP.
The general trend with candidate registration of a “minor ruling party and major opposition” does not appear unrelated to the fact that in all sorts of opinion polls, many more respondents predict the opposition party will become the biggest party in the land. This means potential candidates are entering the race as opposition candidates since they view their chances of winning as higher.
In one look at the current registration of potential general election candidates with the National Election Commission from December 13, when registration started, to Sunday, a total of 874 candidates were registered in 245 districts, making for a competition rate of 3.57 to one.
When looked at by district, there was a clear lean towards the Unified Democratic and Unified Progressive parties. In Seoul, with its 48 electoral districts, 28 people had registered as GNP candidates, barely enough to fill half the districts, while 83 registered as Unified Democratic Party candidates, close to twice the number of district spots. Some 20 had registered as Unified Progressive Party candidates. In Seoul, there were 3.7 times as many candidates for the Unified Democratic and Unified Progressive parties as there were for the GNP. In Incheon, too, with its 12 electoral districts, 11 people had registered as the GNP candidates, while 24 had registered as Unified Democratic and 13 had registered as Unified Progressive candidates. In Gyeonggi Province, too, 65 registered as GNP candidates, while 84 registered as Unified Democratic candidates and 35 registered as Unified Progressive candidates.
In Busan, which elects 18 lawmakers, 26 people registered as GNP candidates, while 14 had registered as Unified Democratic and 14 as Unified Progressive candidates, making for a total of 28 candidates on the progressive side. It is extremely unusual for there to be more non-GNP candidates than GNP candidates in the Yeongnam region.
Only in five of 16 of Korea’s provinces and metropolitan cities (Daegu, Ulan, North Chungcheong, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang) had more GNP candidates registered than Unified Democratic and Unified Progressive candidates. The competition rate is highest in Daejeon. In that city, which elects six lawmakers, 29 candidates have so far registered, a competition rate of 4.8 to 1.

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