The main opposition Democratic Party(DP) on Tuesday officially decided to maintain the current system of allocating proportional seats in the upcoming April 10 general elections.

The decision was reached after DP chief Lee Jae-myung decided to retain the system as the main opposition party, with a majority in the National Assembly, entrusted him with the decision.

After its general meeting of its lawmakers earlier in the day, DP floor leader Hong Ihk-pyo said there was unanimous agreement on the leadership’s decision, adding that the party will establish an integrated proportional party as soon as possible based on the current semi-mixed member proportional electoral system(MMP).

The MMP was first introduced in the 21st parliamentary elections in 2020 with the aim of ensuring fair representation for minor parties in the Assembly.

However, it led to criticism that major parties abused the system by creating proxy satellite parties solely to secure additional proportional seats by having the minor parties reintegrate with the main party.

The ruling People Power Party and other minor parties have called for a return to the parallel representative system, in which voters cast separate ballots for constituency seats, counting them separately from votes for parties.