The Democratic Party announced plans to select its next leader through a preference voting system rather than a runoff voting method during its upcoming leadership convention in August. The party also discussed assigning weight to delegates and party members in strategic regions based on recent election results.
On the morning of July 7, the Democratic Party's Leadership Convention Preparation Committee held its third meeting at the National Assembly, where they deliberated on the introduction of the preference voting system, the youth leadership system, and the selection of strategic regions.
Lee Yeon-hee, a member of the committee, spoke to reporters after the meeting, stating, "We have decided to abolish the runoff voting system and adopt the preference voting system, as many members expressed support for this change."
The newly introduced preference voting system differs from the runoff method, which requires a second vote if no candidate receives a majority. Instead, it ranks all candidates based on voter preferences. The committee's decision means that the next party leader is expected to be determined on the day of voting.
Additionally, the party discussed assigning weight to delegates and party members in strategic regions, but did not reach a final decision on this matter.
Lee noted, "We aim to select strategic regions based on recent election results. We have agreed to provide additional points for vulnerable areas, but we will apply a principle to minimize the risk of vote reversal by not exceeding double the weight. This will be finalized in future meetings."
The committee also discussed introducing a youth leadership system at this convention, proposing to lower the age limit from 45 to 39 years.
Lee concluded, "To summarize, we have decided to implement the youth leadership system at the convention. We will continue discussions on the specific details, including the age limit, which is currently set at 45 but was discussed to be lowered to 39 during this meeting."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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