Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) said yesterday he would accept the outcome of a recount of the March 20 presidential election results. Lien has suggested that the election suffered from unfair manipulation by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
In an article written for the International Herald Tribune, Lien said that if the recount was fair, he was willing to accept the results.
"This election was particularly marred by voting irregularities and a mysterious assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮)," Lien wrote.
"The best way to redress voting irregularities is to have a recount .... If the recount is fair and on a full scale, I will abide by the result," he wrote.
Lien filed a lawsuit to have the election results declared invalid. In a first hearing at the Taiwan High Court on Friday, Lien's opposition party and Chen's ruling party agreed to hold a recount, but disagreed on who should pay the bill. Lien plans to file a second lawsuit soon to nullify the election and call for a new poll.
Meanwhile, he is also waiting for the outcome of an investigation into the shooting, which some say was staged by Chen to win sympathy votes.
World-famous US forensic expert Henry Lee (
Lee will arrive in Taipei on April 13.
After March 20, Lien supporters protested outside the Presidential Office in central Taipei to demand an immediate recount and an investigation into the shooting.
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