The National Election Commission reported on the 18th that three ballot observers, who claimed fraudulent elections without valid grounds and interfered with the vote counting process during the by-election for the Guro District Mayor held on the 2nd, were referred to the police.
According to the National Election Commission, they participated in the counting as recommended ballot observers from a certain political party.
Mr. A claimed that the name 'HUAWEI-76A5' appeared in his mobile phone's Wi-Fi list at the counting center, alleging that this indicated a hacking attempt of the counting reporting system by a group related to China.
The National Election Commission responded that it seemed the observer had turned on tethering services on his mobile phone and changed the Wi-Fi name to Huawei. Soon after, it was reported that the Huawei Wi-Fi name no longer appeared. It also stated, 'The communication network for reporting at the counting center is operated through a wired closed network, separate from external networks,' and 'There is absolutely no basis for the claim that the Huawei network is related to the commission's election equipment.'
Mr. B raised objections regarding the special seals attached to the ballot box, questioning, 'Even if you take them off and put them back on, wouldn't you be unaware?' and 'Wouldn't you be unaware even if the ballot box were swapped?' He further stated, 'I would like to directly confirm and verify whether the commission's staff is playing tricks with the leftover ballots brought from the polling place to the counting site.'
In response, the National Election Commission stated, 'All the sealing papers used for sealing the ballot boxes show signs of damage (OPEN VOID) when removed, and the signatures of relevant persons, such as ballot managers and observers, are recorded, making reuse impossible.'
They are suspected of interfering with and obstructing the legitimate vote counting duties of the Guro District Election Management Committee, exceeding the authority of ballot observers.
To enhance the accuracy and transparency of election procedures, the National Election Commission plans to implement the 24-hour public release of the verification sheets and the storage location CCTV for early voting, which were introduced during the last general election, in the presidential election on June 3.
The commission said, 'We hope that there will no longer be fruitless disputes stemming from baseless allegations of electoral fraud,' and 'We will do our utmost to restore public trust through fair and transparent election management.'