▲ A voter casts a ballot in this rendered image. (Yonhap)

general elections-candidate registration

Preliminary candidate registration for general elections to begin this week

SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- The preliminary registration of prospective candidates for April's general elections will begin this week, allowing them to conduct campaigns on a limited scale ahead of the official campaigning period.

The preliminary registration system was introduced in 2004 in an effort to give political novices, who are less known than existing politicians, chances to promote themselves before official campaigning kicks off just two weeks before the elections.

Prospective candidates can register their preliminary candidacies with the national election watchdog until the official candidate registration begins on March 21 for the April 10 elections.

After registration, prospective candidates are allowed to conduct limited campaign activities, such as opening an election office, hiring up to three paid staff members, launching a fundraising organization and raising up to a maximum of 150 million won (US$113,735).

Candidates are also permitted to conduct campaigns through phone calls, text messages and emails and distribute name cards and books of election pledges.

But the preliminary candidate registration will begin without a clear electoral district map as the National Assembly has failed to finalize it due to political wrangling over the number of seats and the electoral system.

The National Election Commission on Tuesday submitted a preliminary electoral map consisting of 253 seats, where it removed one seat each from the capital of Seoul and North Jeolla Province and added one seat each to the port city of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul.

Rival party lawmakers agreed to start discussions on the matter last week, but have yet to reach a conclusion.

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