The Central Election Commission (CEC) held a draw yesterday to assign numerical designations to each of the various political parties and groups participating in the May 14 National Assembly election.
Seizing the opportunity to drum up support, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates chanted the slogan "everybody go, constitutional reform go go go" after the party drew No. 8.
DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) and senior presidential adviser Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), who tops the party's candidate list, presented a carnation garland to each DPP candidate and handed out carnations to onlookers to play up the party's campaign theme, namely "Carnation Constitutional Reform."
party mascot
Not to be outdone, candidates of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, led by Secretary-General Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘), brought along the party's mascot -- an ant -- and promoted their bid to draft a new constitution and change the official name of the country.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Action Alliance staged a demonstration at the scene to express their opposition to what they called a "harebrained constitutional reform" and to ask for public debate on the issue.
The 300 seats for the assembly will be allotted to the various parties and groups based on the proportion of votes they each garner in the upcoming election.
The mission of the assembly will be to consider a constitutional amendment package adopted by the Legislative Yuan last August. Items in the package include reducing the number of legislative seats from the present 225 to 113 and adopting a "single seat, two votes" legislative electoral system starting with the seventh legislature to be elected in 2007, as well as phasing out the assembly to allow for popular referendums on future constitutional amendments.
amendments
Also yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) reaffirmed his party's support for the proposed amendments while presiding over the inauguration of a campaign mission for the election.
Lien insisted that amending the Constitution is the only way to achieve constitutional reform, saying the KMT opposes any attempts by any pro-independence groups to abolish the Constitution in order to create a new one.
prize drawing
In an effort to boost the voter turnout rate in the election, the CEC will hold a "lucky draw" for people who go to the polls. The top prize will be NT$1 million (US$31,556) in cash, while notebook computers will be given to three second prize winners.
Other prizes up for grabs include five digital cameras, eight mobile phones, 10 translation machines and 15 MP3 players.
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