The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said yesterday it would give a progress report on vote-buying cases linked to Saturday’s local government elections at the legislature today, an announcement that drew mixed reactions.
The pan-blue camp said it hoped the ministry would increase its efforts to expose illegal campaign practices, while pan-greens doubted the effectiveness of the crackdown.
The ministry said the authorities uncovered 701 people involved in 101 cases of vote-buying between Sept. 1 and Thursday, as well as 39 people connected with 27 cases of election-related violence.
During this period, the ministry said it mobilized 108,791 police officers and 9,181 civilians nationwide to uncover vote-buying. It also mobilized 172 police officers to provide personal protection to 124 candidates and their families.
The ministry said more than 20,000 police officers would be deployed to maintain order at the polls and deal with emergencies on election day.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Policy Committee chief executive Lin Yi-shih (林益世) said the numbers were not as important as what the public feels about the government’s efforts to reduce vote-buying. He said he hoped the ministry would increase its efforts during the final week of the campaign.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Policy Committee chief executive Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the vote-buying situation was very severe. The fact that the number of vote-buying cases dramatically exceed the numbers reported by the ministry shows that the KMT administration has not fully dedicated itself to uncovering vote-buying, he said.
Meanwhile, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) panned President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday over heightened security measures on his trips to campaign for KMT candidates in his role as KMT chairman, saying the security efforts inconvenienced the public.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday that as Ma’s convoy was rushing from Hsinchu County to Taipei’s Songshan Airport for a flight to Chiayi for a campaign event, a loudspeaker was used to tell cars ahead of the convoy to stay clear of the passing lane. At the time, the section of the freeway was completely jammed because of an accident, the report said.
“Ma is trying to help candidates from his party get elected, but heightened security measures are defeating that purpose, because they cause inconvenience to the public and unequal competition,” Tsai said in Nantou County as she campaigned for the DPP’s candidate for the Nantou legislative by-election.
“This will only upset voters and result in a loss of support [for KMT candidates],” she said.
Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), meanwhile, urged Ma to stop “acting like an emperor making inspection tours.”
“Nobody would say anything if he had been equally anxious to help the victims when Typhoon Morakot,” Hsieh said. “But he acted like he was on vacation back then. He is only so anxious when campaigning for his party’s candidates.”
Presidential Office spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) apologized for the inconvenience caused by the presidential convoy. He said the convoy had driven in the passing lane rather than the shoulder because the shoulder was narrower and could have been more dangerous to use.
Security measures for Ma during his campaign trips have caused controversy before.
Last Tuesday, police and National Security Bureau agents blocked DPP Hsinchu County commissioner candidate Peng Shao-chin (彭紹瑾) and his supporters from using a street that Ma and KMT commissioner candidate Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳) were going to parade along. Peng’s supporters protested and the two sides clashed. A reporter on the scene also alleged the police harassed him ahead of Ma’s arrival.
In other election-related developments, the KMT said yesterday it would focus its efforts on winning in Yilan and Hsinchu counties on Saturday.
Ma, Vice Premier Eric Chu (周立倫) and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) visited Yilan County last night to campaign for Yilan County Commissioner Lu Kuo-hua (呂國華), who is running for re-election. The trio have become known as “Ma-li-chiang” (“high horsepower,” 馬立強) for being the three most popular members of the party.
Ma will visit both Yilan and Hsinchu counties later this week to campaign for Lu and Hsinchu County commissioner candidate Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳).
“Chairman Ma will spend more time in Yilan and Hsinchu this week to secure victory in the two counties,” KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) said.
The KMT took Yilan County from the DPP four years ago, and the party is sparing no effort to try and win in Yilan, which had been governed by the DPP for 24 years.
Chiu faces competition from independent candidate Chang Pi-chin (張碧琴), who left the KMT to run, and has received support from Hsinchu County Commissioner Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金).
Ma visited Yunlin County yesterday to campaign for KMT candidate Wu Wei-chi (吳威志) amid protests from DPP supporters upset by police and security officials blocking the roads to pave the way for Ma.
Ignoring the protest, Ma accused Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) of involvement in corruption scandals, and called on supporters to vote for Wu.
“Yunlin deserves a change, and the county will only be better if it changes the commissioner and the party,” the president said.
The Dec. 5 vote will be the first major election to cover all parts of the country since Ma took office in May last year.
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