South Korea has made special arrangements amid the COVID-19 threat with separate booths for those with fevers and special polling stations for the quarantined.
With mandatory temperature checks on voters and other precautionary measures, South Korea is holding the national polls Wednesday despite the coronavirus threat that has infected nearly 11,000 people in the country.
South Korea is the first country to hold a national election since the global pandemic began that has claimed over 126,000 people and has infected nearly 2 million people worldwide.
The East Asian country has introduced a set of safety measures for the parliamentary election as well as for the campaigning. South Korea has made special arrangements amid the COVID-19 threat with separate booths for those with fevers and special polling stations for the quarantined.
"We are now holding an election at a very difficult time amid social distancing campaigns and a contraction of economic activity," election commission chairman Kwon Soon-il said on Tuesday.
"Please go to the polling stations tomorrow and show that you are the owners of this country," he said.
The polling kicked off at 6 am (2:30 am IST Tuesday) with 43.9 million voters eligible to cast their ballots.
Safety measures
>> Mandatory protective masks and temperature checks at the polling station.
>> Those with fever to cast their ballots in separate booths to be disinfected after each use.
>> Voters asked to wear plastic gloves after cleaning their hands with sanitiser at polling stations
>> Voters to keep at least one metre (three feet) distance.
>> Special polling stations at eight central quarantine facilities
>> That self-quarantining at home, but without symptoms, allowed out to vote in a 100-minute window around the polls' 6:00 pm close.
>> Those staying at home and have symptoms are not allowed to vote.
Coronavirus in South Korea
South Korea was hit by the coronavirus in the first wave, just after the outbreak in China. The response of Korea has been appreciated worldwide as it immediately brought the situation under control with massive testing and a contact-tracing drive.
It once had one of the highest rising cases outside China. However, for the last six days, less than 40 new coronavirus cases have been recorded on each day.
The country has reported 10,591 infections and 225 deaths.
Opinion polls
The handling of the coronavirus has been popularity booster for President Moon Jae-in. In late 2019 and early 2020, Moon was being criticised for sluggish economic growth and his soft approach on North Korea. He has, however, gained massive popularity and acceptability with his approval rating jumping from 41% in late January to 57% last week, according to Gallup polls.
The vote is being largely seen as a referendum on his performance on coronavirus.
While president in Korea is directly elected and Moon is not up for re-election, the polls will decide the majority in the Parliament. Moon's Democratic party is the largest in parliament but it does not hold a majority and relies on support from other parties to pass legislation.
In the last available opinion polls, the Democratic party had 44% support, a huge lead over the main conservative opposition United Future Party's 23%.
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