The Busan Electoral Commission announced on the 19th that election campaigning for the “April 2 Busan Superintendent By-election” will officially begin on the 20th. Campaigning will be allowed from that day until the day before the election, April 1st, as long as it does not violate the Public Official Election Act. However, political parties cannot be involved in the superintendent election, and candidates cannot express support for or opposition to any particular party or declare party affiliation.
Candidates are allowed to campaign using printed materials and facilities. They can prepare election posters and bulletins, submit them to the Electoral Commission, which will then post the posters in designated places and send the bulletins to each household. Furthermore, candidates, their spouses, direct relatives, and campaign staff accompanying the candidate can distribute name cards, and election banners can be posted within twice the number of townships, towns, and districts in the constituency.
Candidates can also distribute a manifesto detailing their pledges and plans through their family or campaign staff. Additionally, candidates and designated campaign personnel can give speeches and engage in discussions at public places from 7 AM to 11 PM. However, loudspeakers for public addresses can only be used from 7 AM to 9 PM, and video recording equipment can display video without sound until 11 PM.
Voters can also express support for a candidate by word or phone, except on election day. During the campaigning period, campaign items within 25 cm can be used, and campaigning through the internet, email, texting, and social networking services (SNS) is allowed at all times.
No allowances or expenses can be requested or received in exchange for election-related volunteer work, and taking pictures of ballots in the polling booth or posting them on SNS is prohibited. Especially, sharing or spreading defamatory content or false information about candidates on SNS can be against the law, so voters should exercise caution.
A representative from the Busan Electoral Commission urged that this by-election be conducted fairly and cleanly, with candidates competing with their policies and voters carefully evaluating the policies and candidates before making their choice.