The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled against former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), who had sought to annul the result of last year’s mayoral election.
Ting on Nov. 24 last year was defeated by independent Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) by 3,254 votes.
Ting four days later requested a recount and filed a request to have the result annulled. In the recount, Ting lost 303 votes.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
He yesterday said that he regretted the court’s decision and would consider an appeal, accusing the Central Election Commission and Taipei Election Commission of numerous breaches of election law.
In his lawsuit, Ting claimed that more than 100,000 voters waiting in lines to cast their ballots watched live tallies from some polling stations on their mobile devices, affecting the outcome.
When he left the court, Ting was surrounded by a dozen supporters who shouted slogans such as “Invalidate the election result, we demand justice” and “The justice system is unfair.”
“Ting’s accusations were found to be only minor flaws in the process. These did not affect the final outcome and were not essential elements that could nullify the election result,” the court said in a statement.
As for the issue of people waiting to vote while tallies were being reported, the court said that it was a situation “outside of expected election procedure.”
“This took place because of an advance in technology and changes in society, which led to an anomalous result... Therefore, discussions are needed to amend the law, which is the purview of the Legislative Yuan. Election agencies can only conduct the process in accordance with the law, which is granted in the Constitution’s principle of the separation of state power,” it said.
“Even if we took into account all alleged infractions and ruled in Ting’s favor in all ambivalent situations, at most it would only swing 58 ballots in Ting’s favor, which would still not affect the election outcome,” Taipei District Court Chief Judge Huang Ping-chin (黃柄縉) said.
Ko on Facebook said: “My thoughts are... Hmm, I got it. Let us continue working.”
“We respect the court’s ruling. Ko as mayor will continue to cast his eyes toward Taipei’s development and, as always, bury himself into everyday work with diligence,” Taipei City Government deputy spokesperson Huang Ching-yin added.
There were some imperfections in the details of the election process, including voters checking tally reports while still waiting to cast their vote, Taipei Election Commission Deputy Secretary-General Yu Shu-yi said.
“The commission will review the situation and learn from it, but will not change our impartial stance,” Yu said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique