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Decision on ballot distribution delayed

Protesters demonstrate against the Democratic Progressive Party's proposed referendum on applying to join the UN under the name ``Taiwan'' outside the Central Election Commission in Taipei yesterday. The signs on the board read ``Presidential election is hostage to the referendum,'' ``I'm not voting in the referendum'' and ``Oppose joint elections and referendums.'' PHOTO: CNA

The Central Election Commission (CEC) failed to reach a decision yesterday on how legislative election and referendum ballots will be distributed. Commission members could not reach a consensus during their three-hour meeting.

"We failed to reach a conclusion because many members believed that more factors should be taken into account before a decision is made," commission Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) said after the meeting.

"We will consult with local election commission officials and local government heads and make a decision when we meet next month," Chang said, without giving a date.

AT ISSUE

The pan-blue and pan-green camps disagree on how ballots for the legislative elections and two referendums -- one proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and one by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) -- should be distributed to voters on Jan. 12.

The DPP's "stolen assets recovery" referendum seeks to force the KMT to return assets it acquired illegally during its decades of authoritarian rule.

The KMT's "anti-corruption" referendum aims to give the legislature the power to investigate allegations of corruption against the president and subordinates.

During the 2004 presidential election -- the first time a referendum was held alongside a national election -- the ballots were issued separately.

Some commission members have suggested that ballots be handed out together to simplify the voting process. Pan-blue politicians and commission members recommended by pan-blue political parties are opposed to the idea.

"What the DPP is trying to do is to tie the referendum to the election, so that the referendum voting rate can reach the 50 percent threshold as stated in [the Referendum] law (公投法)," said Chao Shu-chien (趙叔鍵), a CEC member recommended by the People First Party during a break yesterday.

Chao said distributing the ballots together could spark a riot, given the strong ideological divide between the pan-green and pan-blue camps.

"The Central Election Commission should be concerned with ensuring the voting process is smooth and peaceful," Chao said. "If no serious problems occurred last time when the ballots were issued separately, why should we change it?"

Earlier this week, 18 pan-blue local government leaders vowed to have the ballots distributed separately regardless of what the commission decided.

PFP VIEWPOINT

Chao said waiting until next month to make a decision was a "victory."

"It respects the minority opinion, and I'd call it a small satisfactory victory," Chao said. "However, if the commission votes next time, we [the opponents] will certainly lose."

Chao said a majority of commission members support issuing the two ballots at the same time.

A commission member who wished to remain anonymous said Chang was originally going to call a vote on the issue yesterday. The voting did not occur because another member, Chi Chen-nan (紀鎮南), asked whether the 18 pan-blue government leaders would be sanctioned if they refused to issue the ballots simultaneously.

No one could answer the question during the meeting so the vote was put off.

Chi later confirmed the scenario in a telephone call.

Earlier yesterday, DPP caucus whip Wang Tuoh (王拓) told a press conference that the KMT opposed issuing the ballots together because it was afraid it would have to return its stolen assets.

"If that happened the KMT would not have enough money to buy votes and the party would eventually fall apart," Wang said.

The KMT's proposal of issuing the ballots separately would lead to a low voter turn-out for the referendum, and that's exactly what the KMT wants, Wang said.

KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) dismissed the pan-green camp's accusation that it was afraid that the DPP's referendum on recovering stolen assets would pass.

KMT Legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩) urged the nation's seven pan-green-run cities and counties to follow their pan-blue counterparts' lead.

Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) asked why the commission would consider adopting a different way to distribute ballots.

"Issuing ballots separately is better," Wang said. "If this system has proven feasible, we should stick to it. Why do we need to make a drastic change that could cause more controversy?"

At a separate setting, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) slammed the pan-blue camp's demand that the commission should distribute the ballots for next March's presidential election and referendum issues separately.

They want the proposed UN referendum to fail, Chen said.

"At one time five ballots were distributed to voters together ... So why can't we do so again this time?" the president said

DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) urged the opposition to refrain from paralyzing the government.

"Given that altering the parties in power is a normal thing, it's not right for political parties to boycott the government's policies when they are out of power," Hsieh said.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan, Jimmy Chuang and Flora Wang

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