With the DPP legislative primary becoming increasingly competitive, DPP Taichung County councilor Liu Kun-li (
"After the Chinese New Year, I was shown a bag of party members' identification cards for sale [to demonstrate how many voters they are capable of mobilizing]. Vote-buying is getting worse," Liu said at a press conference held at the party's central headquarters.
Liu added that he was told that the cost per vote for a single legislative candidate was NT$1,000 and that the cost for four votes for candidates for the DPP's four categories of legislator at large -- being sold on a buy three, get one free basis -- was approximately NT$2,500.
Liu said that usually three candidates for legislator at large -- one each from the "political," "scholar" and "expert" groups -- would ally themselves and make the purchase collectively. The fourth category of legislator-at-large is an "overseas legislator."
Liu, in addition, estimated that in order to win, it would be necessary to secure 1,000 more votes than any other candidate.
NT$1 million
If any candidate, therefore, wished to secure his votes through vote-buying, he said, it would probably cost him somewhere in the region of NT$1 million to become the party's candidate in the year-end legislative elections.
He also added that some votes were even sold for as much as NT$3,000.
Liu urged the party's central headquarters to take the problem seriously and to conduct a thorough investigation into vote-selling and vote-buying in constituencies in central Taiwan.
Professing its "shock" at Liu's accusation, the ruling DPP yesterday publicly asked Liu for evidence.
"We can't treat every legislative candidate as a thief," the DPP's deputy secretary-general, Hsu Yang-ming (
"We would like to ask Liu to identify with solid evidence as to exactly where, when and who has conducted vote-selling," he added.
Telephone polls
Hsu added that the first stage of the primary, when the party conducts telephone polls of randomly selected voters in each constituency, was about to come to an end and that the second stage, a vote by party members, would be held starting April 1.
The telephone poll accounts for 70 percent of each candidate's total score in the primary while the party members' vote accounts for 30 percent.
In response to Hsu's remarks, Liu said that one of his acquaintances, who was a school teacher, had telephoned and left a message for Hsu containing information about vote-selling, but that Hsu had not responded.
Liu added that he did not have any evidence at hand since the vote-sellers had come to him without informing him first, therefore catching him off-guard and not allowing him time to prepare to collect evidence.
Hsu flatly denied Liu's accusation.
"I have taken care of every call that informs the party of any misconduct of vote-buying for the party's primary," he said.
He refused to reveal any further details, insisting that such information should be kept confidential.
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