South Korea ruling party wins election

On April 16, 2020, the ruling democratic party of President Moon Jae won the election taking 180 seats. The opposition United Future Party took 103 seats. There are 300 seats in the South Korea National Assembly.

Pandemic concerns

South Korea was the first country to hold national election among the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 14,000 polling booths set up for elections and at every polling booth the temperature of the voters was checked before they were allowed to vote.

Voting amidst COVID-19

The people had to use sanitizers and wear plastic gloves and face masks and stand at least a metre apart to cast their vote. When a person had temperature above 37.5 degree Celsius, he had to vote in a separate booth.

Highlights

The turnout of voting in spite of COVID-19 crisis was the highest in the country since 1962. Around 66.2% of the country voted in the elections. There are currently 60,000 people in quarantine due to COVID-19.

This election was the first time that the 18 year olds were allowed to vote.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2020