Print

Mail

wiki links

Ma accused of violating election regulations

Police remove campaign banners placed less than 30m from the voting station at Chungyi Village Activity Center in Taipei County yesterday, after voters protested. A few election irregularities were reported around the nation yesterday. PHOTO: HSIEH FUNG-CHIU, TAIPEI TIMES

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was criticized yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for accompanying KMT candidates to vote, one of a few alleged voting irregularities reported around the nation.

Ma yesterday morning accompanied the KMT's candidate for Taipei County commissioner, Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), and the party's candidate for Keelung City mayor, Hsu Tsai-li (許財利), to vote. His appearance was quickly broadcast by TV news stations.

DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said Ma was suspected of breaking the Election and Recall Law (選舉罷免法), which stipulates that election campaigning must stop at 10pm the day before an election.

The People First Party's (PFP) candidate for Keelung mayor, Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄), also said he was upset by Ma's actions.

But Ma said he was simply accompanying his party's candidates to vote, which was not related to campaigning.

In Pingtung County, Minister of the Interior Su Jia-chyuan's (蘇嘉全) older brother Su Jia-chuan (蘇嘉川) was accused yesterday of illegally helping his son Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) in his bid to become a Pingtung County councilor, but Pingtung police said Su Jia-chuan had done nothing wrong.

According to Pingtung police, one of Su Jia-chyuan's relatives, Wu Chin-liang (吳慶堂), who was also running for Pingtung County councilor, yesterday morning accused Su's brother of gathering electors' identity cards and voting on their behalf.

Police went to Su's brother's neighborhood to investigate yesterday morning, and found him taking a neighbor surnamed Hsu, who had suffered a stroke, to vote.

Because Hsu is unable to move on his own, Su accompanied him to the polling station and carried his identity card for him.

Pingtung police said there was nothing illegal about accompanying a handicapped person to vote.

The KMT legislative caucus yesterday morning had released a press statement alleging that Su's brother had violated the Election and Recall Law.

In response, Su Jia-chyuan said the KMT and Wu were attempting to influence his nephew's election chances, and his family would bring the case to the court.

Su's nephew, candidate Su Chen-ching, also accused the KMT and Wu of violating the Election and Recall Law.

In Taichung, police said that some of the city's residents received cellphone messages early yesterday morning saying that KMT Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), who was standing for re-election, had suffered another stroke and was in critical condition.

Police traced the messages to two cellphones registered in the Philippines and were attempting to identify the perpetrators.

Hu yesterday disproved the messages by going to vote yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, a man came forward claiming that he was the man behind the "walking fees" videotape. The KMT earlier this week released a videotape allegedly proving that the DPP's Taipei County commissioner candidate Luo Wen-chia (羅文嘉) had paid people NT$150 (US$4.50) to attend a DPP rally. Luo denied the allegation.

A Danan Bus Co (大南客運) driver surnamed Chen appeared at Chou Hsi-wei's campaign headquarters after polling stations closed yesterday afternoon and said that he had recorded the tape because he saw a DPP member paying people who got on one of the firm's buses to attend the rally.

In response, the DPP said the man was not a real bus driver, and the KMT had arranged for him to claim to be the one who'd made the tape.
This story has been viewed 1996 times.