The National Election Commission is to carry out a mock election June 30 at 158 polling stations in 108 countries, as a final dry run for the overseas voting system set to take effect next year.

Among the 5,484 who registered themselves as voters, 4,708 had their residence in Korea and the remaining 776 were permanent residents in overseas countries, according to the NEC.

All voters are required to be 19 or older as of July 8, when the collected ballots are to be opened and tallied here in Seoul.

Though this year’s mock election only covers a fraction of the 2.3 million eligible voters, the electoral college should be sufficient in size to test the how well the electronic personal identification system works, officials said.

“This is why we have reduced the number of voters but expanded the number of participating countries this year,” said an NEC official.

“Though it may be difficult to draw out a significant participation rate from the pool, we will be able to thoroughly check the various potential problems in different regions.”

The 159 polling stations even include Kiribati, a West Pacific island state where only one potential voter resides. The Ivory Coast and Libya were excluded for their political insecurity, and the Japanese Sendai region because of the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes earlier this year.

Last November, a total of 10,991 voters registered themselves in 21 countries and 4,203 or 38.2 percent actually cast their vote.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time next Thursday, voters are to cast their ballots on a fictional local lawmaker and a proportional representative. Those who do not have permanent residence in Korea will only be qualified to select a proportional representative.

Voters will be asked to show their special ballot papers and designated envelopes, together with a valid passport, before voting.

All processes are identical to those of the actual vote, except that voting will last for a day whereas the real ballot will last for five days, considering the distances and working hours, officials said.

“Through this final test version, we will figure out the potential problems of the overseas voting system and make sure that our overseas nationals properly exercise their rights in next year’s elections,” the NEC official said.

Despite the extensive preparation steps, many expressed concerns over the first-ever overseas vote.

Because the polling stations are limited, areas with a high Korean population density may have to endure an excessively long waiting time to vote.

A large number of voters will be required to travel for hours to reach their regional stations, personally shouldering all travelling and lodging expenses. Those living in remote African or South American states may even have to cross borders for the purpose.

The high cost, too, is a problem.

Each overseas polling day is expected to cost 53 billion won ($49.3 million). Of that, 16 billion won will go on international mailing to receive the ballots.

The revision bill of the public election law was approved in 2009 in order to guarantee the political rights of overseas nationals.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)