Posted on 05/31/2006 5:19:05 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Wednesday May 31, 5:11 PM
S. Korea's opposition GNP wins big in local elections: exit polls
(Kyodo) _ South Korea's main opposition Grand National Party won a crushing victory over the ruling Uri Party in Wednesday's nationwide local elections, widely seen as a weathervane for next year's presidential election, according to exit poll results released by local TV networks. The state-run Korean Broadcasting System said its exit poll results showed the GNP won 11 out of 16 contests for either mayor or governors, with the Uri Party winning just one and the others going to minor opposition parties.
The YTN all-news cable channel also said its poll results showed the GNP won 11 out of the key 16 battlegrounds.
Up for grabs are posts for 16 mayors and provincial governors, 230 heads of lower-level administrative units and 3,621 members of local councils.
The elections were held amid deepening public disappointment about President Roh Moo Hyun's handling of state affairs.
The approval rating for Roh and the ruling Uri Party have nosedived over corruption scandals and the sluggish economy.
Roh's five-year single term is to expire in February 2008.
I think that GNP will walk away with 13 out of 16 major battlegrounds, which are made up of provincial governership or mayorship of major cities.
GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye is the biggest winner in this election. She recovered from slash wound from an assailant more than a week ago, and campaigned for GNP candidates in two really tight races in Daejon and Jeju. All indications are that she turned the momentum and GNP candidates would win in those two places. This will boost her stature and improve her odds significantly in upcoming contest for a presidential candidate at GNP party convention.
Is it too much to wait for the election to be held and the votes counted before 'results' are announced?
I know what you mean. However, this is more or less one-sided election. There would not be major change of results.
Ping!
What is wrong with waiting for actual results?
In Journalism 101, when there is no news, conduct a poll and report on its results. After the vote is in, write that story. Three days afterward, compare how the poll did to actual results.
Can he be impeached a lot earlier for his conspiracies to collaborate with the North?
I don't like the idea of this stooge having almost two years to plot something dire.
If things turn out right, we might see him impeached. His party will break up soon. He may no longer have any control over legislature by then.
Because of that, as you pointed out, there is a good chance that he may resort to something dire in order to prevent the opposition from taking power.
North Korea has urged South Korea not to vote for GNP. So far, GNP is winning. Park Geun-hye is the head of GNP and she is the daughter of Park Chung-hee, who was South Korea's president and assassinated in 1979. He was anti-Communist and scared them. It is about time to take out the trash.
I look forward to the official results but this looks good.
Question, are you in Korea?
Let Chung out of jail [out of the rice paddies].
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