Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who entered the National Assembly after winning the June 3 by-election in Busan’s Buk-A constituency, said he will propose an amendment to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act that would subject the National Election Commission to state audit.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Han said the election watchdog had become “a sanctuary free from oversight,” arguing that recent problems had reached a point where even the basic principles of election management were being threatened.
“Election management should not be ‘as fair as possible’ but ‘100 percent fair,’” Han wrote. “This is an area where an absolute standard of fairness must apply.”
Han criticized the recent ballot paper shortage, calling it “shocking” and saying it had betrayed even the minimum public expectation of fairness. He added that public anger over the incident was natural and should not be taken lightly.
Han said his bill would add a legal basis to Article 24 of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, enabling official inspections of the National Election Commission and election commissions at all levels. He also said the amendment would include an exception preventing such audits of the election watchdog from being reported to the president.
A day earlier, after paying respects at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Nam-gu. Busan, Han told reporters that the latest controversy should be used as an opportunity to end what he described as “poorly managed elections” led by the election commission.
“We must clearly define the powers and duties of the election commission in law,” Han said, adding that the commission should no longer be allowed to act “as if it were above the people” during elections.
cheesuk@heraldcorp.com
