South Korean election officials count ballots of the parliamentary elections in Daegu, April 9, 2008. South Korea's ruling Grand National Party (GNP) won more than half of the seats in Wednesday's parliamentary elections, the National Election Commission (NEC) said.

Analysts said the outcome of Wednesday's parliamentary election will help President Lee Myung-bak, who took office on Feb. 25, to conduct a smooth-running of his administration.

The election was carried out from 6:00 a.m. Wednesday (2100 GMT Tuesday) to 6:00 p.m. (0900 GMT) at over 13,000 ballot boxes throughout the country.

The turnout of Wednesday's election was the lowest in history. The NEC said that only 46 percent of a total of 38 million eligible voters cast their ballots.

South Korean election officials count ballots of the parliamentary elections in Daegu, April 9, 2008. South Korea's ruling Grand National Party (GNP) won more than half of the seats in Wednesday's parliamentary elections, the National Election Commission (NEC) said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2008)