With no clear frontrunner, the ruling Saenuri Party's leadership race remained unpredictable on Monday, a day before the crucial polls to elect a new cadre of leaders tasked with promoting party unity and preparing for next year's presidential vote.

On Tuesday, the party will hold a national convention in Seoul to pick one leader and five members of its decision-making Supreme Council. The party has been led by an interim leadership since its crushing defeat in the April 13 parliamentary polls.

At the convention, some 9,100 delegates are set to cast their ballots. On Sunday, some 69,800 general and senior party members -- only some 21 percent of the designated voters for the day -- voted in advance.

Ballots by party members and delegates account for 70 percent of the election results, while public opinion polls comprise 30 percent.

Four Saenuri lawmakers -- Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ju-young, Joo Ho-young and Han Sun-kyo -- have been vying for the party's top post.

Lee Jung-hyun, who has been backed by a group of lawmakers loyal to President Park Geun-hye, called the "Pro-Park" faction, has remained slightly ahead of other candidates in public opinion surveys.

Joo Ho-young, a candidate representing the group of lawmakers who are not closely affiliated with the president, also remains a formidable competitor with strong backing from former party leader Rep. Kim Moo-sung.

Joo is also backed by his supporters in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province -- the ruling party's traditional support base.

Among those who participated in Sunday's early voting, 19,326 people were from the region.

Having thrown his hat in the ring earlier than others, Rep. Lee Ju-young is seen as having a fairly strong following in his hometown of South Gyeongsang Province. He has declared himself a "neutral figure" not affiliated with any of the party's major factions.

Rep. Han, whose support base lies in the Seoul metropolitan area, has also been emerging as a notable candidate for the party's chairmanship.

For the five Supreme Council seats, 10 party members have been engaged in the heated race.

The pro-President Park faction has fielded three lawmakers -- Cho Won-jin, Lee Jang-woo and Ham Jin-kyu -- and is hoping to have at least two of them clinch council seats.

Also in the race are Reps. Kang Seok-ho and Jeong Yong-gi, and Chung Moon-hun. Lee Eun-jae and Choi Yeon-hye are vying for the one slot in the council designated for a woman, while Yoo Chang-soo and Lee Boo-hyeong are competing for the youth slot. (Yonhap)