Election watchdog faces fresh scrutiny in wake of election fiasco over beach photos, ballot budgets

Newly revealed National Election Commission (NEC) documents outlining its budgets for business trips and ballot-printing are adding to public scrutiny after several polling stations ran short of ballots during the June 3 local elections.

A document with the translated title of “Report on the Observation of the Maldives Presidential Election” was posted on an online community on Wednesday, unearthing details of an official business trip to the Maldives by five NEC officials on a nine-day, seven-night observation trip from Sept. 6 to Sept. 14 in 2023.

The stated purpose of the visit was to study changes in electoral environments abroad and conduct comparative research on election laws and institutions.

The report said the officials observed campaigns, visited candidates’ campaign offices, attended briefings and monitored voting and vote-counting procedures.

However, some days reportedly had no official schedule at all, while on other days the only item listed in the afternoon was an “official dinner.”

The report also included multiple photographs of beaches.

“Due to the geographical characteristics of island regions, election campaigning was primarily conducted using facilities along the coastline and at sea,” the document said, explaining the photos.

The report drew criticism after it was made public.

“I thought it was an Instagram photo,” one commenter said, while another wrote sarcastically, “Taxpayer money well spent.”

Some questioned what NEC employees could have learned from observing the Maldives presidential election.

Another document recently made public showed that the commission had secured sufficient funding to print ballots for the June 3 local elections but ultimately spent only about half of the budget.

The commission instructed local election offices nationwide to budget for printing ballots at 110 percent of the number of registered voters, according to data submitted by the NEC to Rep. Song Eon-seog of the opposition People Power Party on Wednesday.

A total of 14.52 billion won ($9.6 million) was allocated for printing, but only 8.2 billion won was actually spent, accounting for only 56.5 percent of the budgeted amount.

By region, Ulsan recorded the highest spending rate at 90.3 percent, followed by Jeju at 79.2 percent, South Gyeongsang at 75.2 percent, Gangwon at 71.7 percent and Daejeon at 71.1 percent.

On the other hand, Seoul fell below the national average at 55 percent, as did Gyeonggi at 55.1 percent, Gwangju at 48.4 percent, Incheon at 48.2 percent, Busan at 46.6 percent, Daegu at 36.8 percent and Sejong at 27.2 percent.

The budgeting process also appeared inconsistent, with discrepancies found between the projected cost per unit and the actual cost, resulting in significant reductions in printing volumes.

In southern Seoul's Songpa District—the area hit hardest by ballot shortages—the printing cost for mayoral ballots skyrocketed by 50 percent, jumping from an estimated 30 won to a final cost of 45 won per ballot.

With a total expenditure of 12.72 million won, the price hike severely choked supply. Had the original 30 won estimate held, the district could have printed roughly 424,200 ballots—enough to cover 75 percent of Songpa’s 565,368 registered voters. Instead, the higher production costs forced the printing volume down to just 280,800 ballots, leaving the district with enough paper to cover less than half of its electorate.

In some cases, actual spending exceeded the original budget.

For the Yeongdeungpo District chief election in western Seoul, 11.05 million won was initially allocated for ballot printing, but actual spending went 2.25 million won over budget, bringing the total to 13.3 million won.

In Seocho District, southern Seoul, ballot-printing costs also surpassed the original budget by 410,000 won.

“The NEC secured sufficient funding but arbitrarily reduced printing volumes, and it has been confirmed that contract prices and spending details varied widely by region,” Rep. Song said.

“It is necessary to thoroughly investigate through a parliamentary investigation and a special counsel probe whether there were any illegalities in the overall process of budgeting, spending and contract execution.”

BY SHIN HYE-YEON, JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]