Overseas voters who have registered to vote for the upcoming May 9 presidential election will be entitled to cast their ballots for six days from April 25-30, the National Election Commission said Sunday.

The election watchdog recently revealed that a record number of 294,633 overseas Korean nationals signed up to head to the polls this year. The figure marked a 31.8 percent rise, compared to the previous 2012 presidential election. 

The United States has the highest number of voters with 68,244, followed by China with 43,912, and Japan with 38,009, according to a data collected by the election commission.

The voting is scheduled to take place in diplomatic offices in 116 countries and four overseas military bases according to their time zones starting from Tuesday.

The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles, a facility that oversees 13,631 Korean registrants, reminded voters to bring valid identification cards or passports to the polling place.

“For the eligible voters who hold permanent residency cards, it is mandatory to present the original copy of green card or visa at the polling site,” said Yoon Jae-soo, an election officer under consulate in LA.

Yoon also reminded the voters to refrain from taking photos of ballots at the site.

Meanwhile, competing parties have been eyeing ways to capture the heart of the overseas electorate with pledges to improve the lives of South Korean citizens in foreign nations.

An open forum on overseas citizens, attended by several representatives from political parties involved in the election, was held on Friday at the Korea Press Center, in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

Through the meeting, the Democratic Party of Korea and the Liberty Korea Party vowed to establish the Office of Overseas Citizens Services while the People’s Party promised a presidential committee for overseas Koreans.

The campaign promises made by the candidates can be viewed on www.nec.go.kr.

Counting for the overseas ballots will start after the main election ends at 8 p.m., May 9.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)