South Korean protesters keep calling for re-run of election

Protesters outside a ballot-counting site in South Korea on Saturday rallied for a second day, demanding a re-run ​of local elections held earlier this week.

Around 10,000 citizens were ‌estimated to have gathered at the SK Olympic Handball Stadium as of 5:30 p.m. (0830 GMT), where votes were counted from Wednesday's elections to pick ​mayors and local government officials and assembly members, Yonhap ​News Agency reported, citing an unofficial police estimate.

Representatives at ⁠Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency were not immediately reached by Reuters ​to confirm the estimates.

The protests follow a ballot shortage that prevented ​some eligible voters from casting their ballots across the country, prompting the resignation of the head of the National Election Commission.

Fifty of 14,300 polling stations ran ​out of ballots and voting was temporarily suspended at 22 ​polling stations due to delays in receiving supplies, according to the election commission.

Seoul ‌Mayor ⁠Oh Se-hoon said in a televised speech, that the ballot shortage was intolerable and a violation of the right to vote. He demanded disbanding the election commission and an investigation by special ​prosecutors.

Many protesters, including ​conservative YouTubers, chanted ⁠slogans for an "election re-run," sang the national anthem, and waved South Korean flags, live footage from ​local broadcaster YTN and Yonhap News showed.

Some of ​them sat ⁠in front of the stadium's gates, to block officials of the National Election Commission from leaving.

The officials, who had been stuck in ⁠the ​stadium since Friday morning, eventually left ​the site on Saturday, Yonhap said.

The election commission did not immediately respond to a ​request on their departure.

-Reuters