The 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections
With turnout in the 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections at 57.4% as of 5 p.m. on the 3rd, raising the question of whether the final rate will top 60%, attention is also on the exit poll results and winner projections to be released mainly by broadcasters.
The joint prediction survey (exit poll) of the three terrestrial broadcasters is scheduled to be released at 6 p.m., when polls close.
According to the Korea Broadcasters Association, the Broadcast Networks Joint Election Prediction Committee (KEP), formed by the three terrestrial networks KBS·MBC·SBS and the Korea Broadcasters Association, is conducting exit polls at 595 polling stations nationwide today.
The survey covers elections for the heads of the 16 metropolitan and provincial governments and for superintendents of education, and re·by-elections for National Assembly seats in key constituencies are also included. To improve the accuracy of winner projections, KEP is also conducting a telephone survey of 28,500 early voters alongside the exit poll.
The 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections
The election result projections will be released simultaneously at 6 p.m. through the three terrestrial networks election broadcasts. Under KEP citation guidelines, winner projections and expected vote shares may be cited in reports starting at 6:15 p.m., 15 minutes after polls close.
There is interest in whether the exit polls, which correctly projected many winners in the last local and presidential elections, will again demonstrate accuracy this time.
General programming channel JTBC will unveil some winner projections the moment the polls close, through its vote-count broadcast ‘Our Choice’. The results of the JTBC 6·3 local election projection survey may be cited after announcement, but the source must be stated as ‘JTBC projection survey’.
Observers expect that the late surge in campaign fervor and the high turnout will act as variables for the accuracy of the exit poll and projections and the confirmation of winners in this local election.
Meanwhile, Yonhap News TV predicted, “The vote-count results could come as early as around midnight, and in closely contested districts the results are expected late in the early hours of tomorrow.”
