Inter-party negotiations on an election recount broke down yesterday after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) caucuses failed to sign an agreement with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), insisting instead on a recount hosted by the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) hosted separate inter-party negotiations yesterday to discuss whether to pass an amendment to the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Law (總統副總統選舉罷免法) tomorrow that would allow for a recount.
DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union legislators and the Alliance of Independent Lawmakers agreed to hold an extra session of the Procedure Committee and proceed with inter-party negotiations to discuss the amendment and then to pass the amendment during tomorrow's legislative session.
The DPP caucus pointed out that if the amendment could be passed tomorrow, then the president could promulgate the law the same day, and the recount could be conducted next Tuesday.
Before the negotiations began yesterday, KMT policy convener Tseng Yung-chuan (
"Negotiations are wanted only by the DPP and negotiations do not solve the real issues such as the necessity to draw up implementation details for the law and the period of time required for that. I don't think the negotiations can solve the problem at hand," KMT caucus whip Liao Feng-te (廖風德) said after the inter-party discussions.
KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (
The PFP caucus voiced similar concerns. PFP Legislator Chin Huei-chu (
"My husband told me that when he was voting, he found the voting stamp to be engraved with the correct voting sign on one side, but the wrong sign on the other side. Although my husband noticed it and stamped with the right sign correctly, two of my neighbors complained to me that they stamped using the wrong sign," Chin said.
PFP legislators Cheng Sang-yuan (
The PFP caucus pointed out the wrong voting stamps might be evidence of planned cheating. It demanded the judiciary intervene and host an immediate recount.
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