DPP affirms plan to challenge statute on shooting probe

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday that it will ask for an interpretation next week at the earliest of the special statute on the establishment of an investigative committee into the election-eve shooting. The statute cleared the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday.

DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) made the remarks after the legislature passed the statute to set up a commission to look into the circumstances surrounding the March 19 attack on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), which the opposition claimed was staged to win sympathy votes for Chen in the election.

Calling the statute "unacceptable," Ker reaffirmed that the Executive Yuan will request the Council of Grand Justices for an interpretation to determine whether the statute is in conflict with the Constitution.

According to the Constitution, Ker said, the Executive Yuan can ask the Legislative Yuan to reconsider a statute with the approval of the president within 10 days after being passed by the legislature.

It is expected that the Legislative Yuan will reconsider the request when it opens its new session on Sept. 17, Ker said.

Noting that the pan-blue alliance controls 112 seats in the legislature, or 20 more than the pan-green camp, Ker said it will be difficult for the pan-greens to win.

But he pointed out that the pan-blue alliance has to mobilize more than half of the 217 legislators to foil the overview, as 109 votes are needed under the current system, and the DPP will make efforts to prevent this.

The Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan and the DPP legislative caucus have been unanimous in their criticism of the statute, saying that the so-called "independent" probe commission, which is authorized to conduct a criminal investigation and to direct prosecutors to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting, infringes on prosecutorial rights among many other things.