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Overseas voting kicks off for S. Korea’s parliamentary elections

March 30, 2016
This file photo shows polling booths being set up at the Korean Consulate in Los Angeles. (Korea Times file)

This undated file photo shows polling booths being set up at the Korean Consulate in Los Angeles. (Korea Times file)

SYDNEY (Yonhap) — South Koreans living outside of the country began casting their ballots for the April 13 general elections Wednesday.

The overseas vote for the parliamentary elections kicked off as the first polling station opened in Auckland, New Zealand at 8 a.m. local time, followed by one in Sydney, Australia.

The six-day run will be conducted in 198 polling stations in 113 countries worldwide, according to the National Election commission (NEC).

“By 11 a.m., 23 people cast ballots, including 17 to 19 people in their 20s and 30s,” a consular official said.

In New Zealand and Australia, 1,367 and 2,933 people respectively registered to cast their votes.

A total of 154,217 people, or 7.8 percent of some 1.98 million eligible citizens living abroad, have registered to cast their ballots, the NEC said.

The commission said that the registration numbers were higher than the previous parliamentary election held in 2012 thanks to the number of increased polling stations and easier registration process.

Registered voters are required to carry a valid form of photo identification such as a passport or a resident registration card and visit a nearby polling station, the NEC said.

Overseas South Koreans became eligible to participate in domestic parliamentary and presidential elections after the related legislation was passed by the National Assembly in 2009.

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