전염병와중에 한국총선실시, 많은 나라들이 연기하는데...두방법다 민주주의에는 나쁜영향끼쳐. CNN보도가 좀 이상하다.

 CNN에서 한국의 총선에 대해서, Coronavirus Pandemic와중에 치르는 선거에 특별한 나라라는 식으로 표현하면서, 다른 많은 나라들이 이러한 전염병이 나라를 휩쓸때, 보통은 선거를 연기 하는데...
한국의 방역을 높게 평가하는것 같았는데, 현재의 순간만을 보는, 한국의 초기 방역실패로인해 10,000명이 넘는 확진자 발생한것에 대한 실상을 좀더 깊이 심층취재한후에 그러한 평가를 했었으면 하는 아쉬움을 느꼈다. Wuhan과의 하늘문을, 다른나라들에서 다 차단했던것 처럼, 한국이 처음부터 차단했으면 좁은 땅덩어리에서 지금처럼 많은 확진자 발생을 막았을것이라는 아쉬움은 현정부의 커다란 방역실패인점에 대한 당국의 중국에 대한 우호정책으로 인한 피해확산이 커졌던 점에 대한 심층취재가 없었던점 무척 아쉬웠다.

미국의 역사를 보면, 미국에서도, Coronavirus Pandemic이 창궐하는속에서 한국의 총선이 실시되는것 처럼, 160여년전에 남북전쟁중에 대통령 선거를 했었던 경험이 있다.  1918년에는 "스페인 플루"가 미국전역을 휩쓸어 675,000 만명이 사망하는 난리중에서도 중간선거를 실시했었다고 한다.

보수정당인, 통합미래당의 선거운동원들이 동대문시장에서 선거운동하는 장면을 현장 취재 하기도 했다.

이번 Coronavirus Pandemic으로 선거를 연기한 나라들이 47 countries.개국이나 되고, 그나라들 중에는 스리랑카, 영국, 불란서, 그리고 애티오피아지만, 현재 미국, 뉴질랜드같은 나라들은 연기를 해야하나 아니면 그대로 진행 시켜야 하나를 놓고 심사숙고 하고 있다고 한다.

많은 나라들이 Coronavirus가 창궐하는 과정은 무척 다르다.  한국은 초기에 다른나라에서 실시한 여행제한을 시행하지 않아 확진자가 피크였었을때만 해도 걱정이 많았었는데, 그후에 정부의 노력이 돋보였다고 평가하고있는것 같다.현재도 한국은 사람들의 모임, 경제 활동을 폐쇄시키지 않고있어 계속 확진자가 발생하고 있는데, 10,500명 이상의 확진자가 발견됐고, 이와중에 투표가 실시되고 있다. 폐쇄조치를 않고 있는데도 한국의 방역은 잘되고 있다는 내용의 편파적 기사를 선거를 앞두고 보도한 이유도 의심이 간다.

CNN의 보도내용을 보면서 아쉬운게 무척많다. 우선 왜 이와중에 투표를 강행하고, 기표소의 안을 밖에서 들여다 볼수있는, 여당에 편파적인 방법으로 부정선거를 하고있다는 증거가 보이는데....
전염병을 핑계대고, 이렇게 공개 투표비슷한 방법으로 투표자가 어느당에 한표를 던졌는지를 알게 하는, 투표소안의 분위기를 심층취재 했어야 했다.  CNN이 요즘 트럼프대통령과 각을 세우고있고, 문통역시 트럼프와 삐걱거리는 그상황을 잘 알고있는 CNN이 과연 Nutural하게 보도한다는 생각은 적어진다. 그래서 요즘은 내가 CNN의 보도에 실망하는 이슈들이 한두개가 아니다.
http://www.donga.com/news/Main/article/all/20200415/100661688/2

Seoul (CNN)It's just after lunchtime at a central Seoul market and a crowd in hot pink jackets is gathering.

Pink is the color of the country's main opposition party, the conservative United Future Party, and this crowd of supporters is staging a legal campaign rally ahead of Wednesday's election of 300 members of the National Assembly.

Large public gatherings are a jarring sight during a pandemic.

But South Korea has never postponed an election before -- and the coronavirus is not stopping this one.

Like many democracies around the world, South Korea has been faced with a predicament: how to hold an election during a pandemic without spreading the virus.

Campaign workers for the conservative United Future Party hold posters at a market in Dongdaemun in Seoul, South Korea, on April 7.

At least 47 countries have postponed elections due to the coronavirus outbreak, including Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, France and Ethiopia. Others, like the United States and New Zealand, are still deciding whether to proceed with their scheduled votes.

Many of those countries are at different points in the virus outbreak. South Korea peaked early, prompting praise for the government's handling of the pandemic. The country isn't in lockdown, and of the more than 10,500 confirmed cases, more than 7,400 have recovered.

Nevertheless, South Korea has made a number of election concessions for the virus.

More than 11 million people -- or 26.7% of registered voters -- cast their vote in advance to avoid crowds, according to the National Election Committee. Early voters, and those casting their vote on Wednesday, will have their temperature checked at the door. Polling booths will be regularly disinfected and anyone with a temperature of more than 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 degrees Farenheit) will have to vote in a special booth. About 20,000 additional workers will be dispatched to put in place the extra measures.

Special voting booths have been set up at government-run isolation centers, and those under self-quarantine will be allowed to leave their house to vote after polling booths close to the public at 6 p.m. 

Voters CNN talked to were supportive of the decision to go ahead. Some said the pandemic made voting even more important.

"I'm not too worried about catching the virus at the polling station as we'll keep social distancing in mind," said 53-year-old Lee Chang-Hoe, who runs a fish tempura shop at the market in Dongdaemun where the UFP rally took place. "Just like a frozen river in winter, even though there is thick layer of ice on the surface, water must flow underneath -- I think it's the same for the election, even during this coronavirus outbreak, elections must go on."

But experts warn that going ahead with an election and delaying an election both come with risks -- not just to public health, but to democracy.

"Intuitively, we think postponing an election sounds anti-democratic," said Toby James, a professor of politics and public policy at the University of East Anglia. "But actually democracy in some ways could be undermined by holding an election in these times."

Going ahead with an election

There's historical precedent for going ahead with elections in a time of crisis.

In 1864, the US held a presidential election despite the country being in the midst of a civil war. During the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak that killed about 675,000 people in the US alone, the country went ahead with its mid-term vote, although the turnout was very low, according to the New York Times.

As James points out, postponing an election is not something democracies like to do, both for the health of the democracy and for practical reasons. "Elections are a huge logistical task. They take years of planning, it's very difficult to unpick from those arrangements," he said.

The Australian state of Queensland went ahead with its local body elections on March 28, with the state's electoral commission calling elections "an essential service." But there was a backlash -- medical experts warned that holding an election posed a "lethal risk," and political experts warned there could be a lower turn out. 

Like South Korea, the state took precautions. Voters were asked to bring their own pencils and hand sanitizer was supplied at polling booths. Those in isolation due to Covid-19 were allowed to vote by telephone, and around a third of voters cast their ballot during the early voting period, reducing the numbers of voters on election day.

In Australia, voting is compulsory -- and anyone who didn't vote in Queensland faces a possible $133.45 (about $86) fine. Nevertheless, early figures put the turnout at around 75%, down from around 83% during the last election.

"You don't know how many people would have liked to have voted, but felt too concerned," said University of Queensland electoral law expert Graeme Orr.

Low turnout is one of the risks of holding an election during a pandemic. James noted that turnout also dropped in France's mayoral election in mid-March and Mali's long-awaited parliamentary election held two weeks later.

Detailed information on voter demographics hasn't been released, but James noted that some at-risk groups may have chosen not to vote, which could affect the final count.

Orr said Queensland should have suspended in-person voting, and instead held an all postal ballot.

Although US President Donald Trump claimed that voting-by-mail is "corrupt" and "dangerous," due to the risks of voter fraud, experts believe that postal voting will be key for any country holding an election during the pandemic.

Campaigning in a pandemic

In a healthy democracy, elections are a time to discuss a wide range of topics.

But right now, there's really only one topic dominating conversation. James points out that holding an election during a crisis means discussion is often limited to how well the government is responding to it.

"It doesn't allow a full range of issues to be discussed, and it does really undermine a sense of democracy," he said.

That was the case during the election in Queensland, where there was no space to talk about non-pandemic issues, Orr said.

Another issue is the difficulty of communicating with voters. If countries are in lockdown, rallies, door-knocking, meeting voters in shopping malls -- might not be possible.

That was something that former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon found during this year's campaign. He said hugs and handshakes can be more impactful than words, but social distancing has ruled that out for now. "We are limited in expressing our feeling this time," he told CNN as he campaigned in the Jogno district of Seoul. Despite that, CNN spotted Lee hugging a supporter as he campaigned. 

In recent years, electioneering in many countries has increasingly moved online -- and online campaigns could become even more important during a pandemic. Those who can't access the internet are already marginalized, but they could become even more isolated without other measures to reach them.

It's even worse in countries with state-owned media. Without rallies, opposition parties have even fewer ways to get their message out.

"Incumbents always have an advantage," said Sarah Repucci, the vice president of research and analysis for democracy non-governmental organization Freedom House. "But they have a bigger advantage in an environment where it's difficult to get information out or get organized."

Postponing an election

Faced with all those issues -- and the unfolding health crisis -- some countries have opted to postpone their elections.

But this, too, comes with risks, say experts. That's because elections are necessary to keep the public's trust, and to maintain the legitimacy of lawmaking.

In Australia's New South Wales, for instance, local government elections have been delayed by one year, meaning mayors and local councilors will stay in power for 12 more months.

Sri Lanka has yet to announce a new date after calling off a parliamentary election set for April 25. The cancellation has left the island in a constitutional predicament -- parliament had already been dissolved ahead of the election date, so technically the country has no parliament.

Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya has said he will pick a new date in May. Repucci said rescheduling is vital to retain public trust in the process. She said any decision to delay an election should be done with cross-party support, to avoid situations where leaders are making unilateral decisions to extend their terms.

And when countries do eventually hold their elections, they should make sure remote voting is available for everyone, but also allow some sanitary, in-person polling stations, Repucci said.

"Democracy has survived through many different kinds of environments," she said. "It's going to look different, but that doesn't mean it can't have the same fundamental components that are so important to a democracy."

A slide into authoritarianism

Elections are only one part of a functioning democracy.

In some countries, leaders have taken on extraordinary powers to allow them to restrict freedoms so they can control the deadly spread of the virus.

In New Zealand, the government has declared a state of emergency for only the second time in the country's history, giving the government sweeping powers including the authority to close roads, evacuate any premises, and exclude people from any place. But it also set up a special committee led by the leader of the main opposition party to allow them to scrutinize the government's coronavirus response in the absence of a sitting parliament.

Hungary's parliament, by contrast, voted to allow the country's far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban to rule by decree indefinitely in order to combat the pandemic, prompting concern that the move could be a power grab.

To Repucci, this is reminiscent of the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when countries around the world pushed through restrictions as part of their fight against terrorism. At the time, the rules played on people's fears -- but in many countries, the rules were never reversed.

One example of this is the Patriot Act in the US, which was brought in following 9/11 and gave the government broader surveillance powers.

"We are already seeing (leaders) using the pandemic as an excuse to consolidate their role and to put measures in place that are there indefinitely and would be very, very hard to reverse," she said.

Both Repucci and James say that the real test will be after the pandemic is over.

"Will the president return those powers back to legislatures or will they try to hang onto them?" James questioned. "It's very early to tell -- what we do know is that this will be a huge test for democracies around the world."

For South Korea, the first test is Wednesday.

While election campaigns in the country tend to be colorful affairs, featuring K-pop style dance troupes and quirky outfits, this election season has been more sedate. As they campaigned in Seoul, candidates wore gloves and face masks -- one even wore a face visor.

But while it's a different atmosphere, constituents such as 49-year-old construction worker Cho Seung-chul have every intention of voting on Wednesday.

"Many people are concerned because of the coronavirus," he said. "I think this situation makes it more important for me to exercise my right to vote."

Journalist Iqbal Athas contributed reporting from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

“코로나 속 한국 총선, 美대선 등에 투표 모델 될수 있을 것”

[총선, 선택의 날]외신 “세계 첫 전국단위 선거” 주목
英-佛 등 47개국은 선거 연기-차질… “코로나에 다른 이슈 묻혀” 지적도 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나19) 사태 속에서 15일 실시되는 21대 국회의원 선거에 대해 주요 외신들은 “코로나19 시대에 실시되는 세계 첫 전국 단위 선거”라며 큰 관심을 보였다. 외신들은 특히 한국의 투표소 방역 및 감염을 최소화하기 위한 투표 절차 등을 상세히 소개했다.

미 시사주간지 타임은 13일(현지 시간) “한국에서 코로나19 감염 확산을 초래하지 않고 투표가 치러진다면 11월 3일 미국 대선 등 다른 나라에서 실시될 선거에 대한 로드맵을 제시할 수 있다”고 전했다.

CNN 등에 따르면 코로나19 확산으로 최소 47개국이 선거를 연기하거나 차질을 빚고 있다. 대선이 6개월 남짓 남은 미국에서는 15개 이상 주(州)가 코로나19로 인해 대선 주자 경선을 연기했다. 최근 미국에서는 11월 대선을 우편투표 방식으로 진행하는 논의도 한창이다. 민주당이 우편투표를 찬성하는 가운데, 현재 도널드 트럼프 미 대통령은 ‘부정투표’ 가능성을 제기하며 반대하고 있는 상황이다.

프랑스는 지난달 지방선거 1차 투표를 강행했지만 역대 최저 투표율을 기록했고 결국 지난달 22일 예정됐던 2차 투표를 6월로 미뤘다. 영국도 5월 실시하려고 했던 지방선거를 1년 미뤘다. 에티오피아도 8월 예정된 총선 일정을 재조정하기로 했다.

이 때문에 15일 한국의 투표 절차 및 형식은 향후 새로운 참고 모델이 될 수 있다는 분석이 나온다. 타임은 “한국 인구가 미국의 6분의 1이고 인구밀도는 미국의 15배에 달하는 등 차이가 있지만 한국의 일부 예방 조치가 미국에도 적용될 수 있다”며 “사전투표나 부재자투표 확대, 손 소독제 활용, 투표소 소독, 투표 대기 줄 3피트(약 1m) 간격 유지 등을 적용할 수 있다”는 전문가 의견을 전했다.

미국 CNN과 뉴욕타임스(NYT), 영국 가디언 등도 최근 기사에서 대중 집회를 줄이고 악수 대신에 ‘팔꿈치 인사’를 하는 달라진 유세 풍경부터 역대 최고 사전투표율, 투표소 1만4000곳 소독과 체온 테스트 후 마스크와 비닐장갑을 끼고 투표하는 과정 등을 보도했다. CNN은 “한국은 선거를 한 번도 연기한 적이 없고 코로나19 역시 연기의 이유가 되지 못했다”고 보도했다.

다만 코로나19 감염 위험으로 당일 투표율이 떨어질 수 있고 코로나19 이슈로 다른 의제들이 묻힐 수 있다는 지적도 나왔다. CNN은 “선거를 연기하는 게 반민주적으로 여겨지지만 이런 시기에 선거를 진행한다는 것 역시 어떤 면에서는 민주주의를 훼손하는 것”이라는 전문가 의견을 전하기도 했다.

구가인 기자 comedy9@donga.com

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/13/asia/elections-coronavirus-pandemic-intl-hnk/index.html

http://www.donga.com/news/Main/article/all/20200415/100657557/1