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DPP establishes candidate selection mechanism

The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Central Standing Committee yesterday settled on the way the party's primary poll for selecting district legislative candidates would work, modifying a proposal from Acting DPP Chairman Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮).

The procedure was endorsed by DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).

According to the resolution, about 50 percent of the nation's voters would be excluded from taking the poll.

The difference to Chai's original proposal was that the survey would now include voters who do not identify with a specific political party and may vote for the DPP if the party has the better candidate.

"Everyone is wise and smart. The committee passed the resolution unanimously through negotiations," Chai said.

When approached for comments after the meeting, Yu said he was satisfied with the result because those who "support and love the party" were more likely to have a bigger say in the primary now.

"I personally have been backing the legislators who love and support the party because their support of the party helped the DPP survive [last year's] crisis," Yu said. "I will not let them down now."

The committee yesterday also scheduled an impromptu national assembly on June 30.

The party is obliged to hold an assembly because a proposal to change the candidate selection process initiated by committee member Huang Ching-lin (黃慶林) garnered the required endorsement from the DPP's district executive committees.

Huang previously hoped to hold the assembly by the middle of this month in a bid to change the party's nomination regulations before the party publicizes its legislative nominees on June 20, but there were concerns as to whether the party should "change the rules after the game has started," DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said.

Huang was the only one who insisted on his timetable during yesterday's meeting.

He told the press after the meeting that he would still make one last effort to prevent several party members from being nominated, such as former DPP legislators Lo Wen-chia (羅文嘉) and Lin Cho-shui (林濁水).

Lo and Lin Cho-shui were among the 11 members that the DPP's grassroots supporters urged the party not to nominate because of their previous outspokenness against the party.

"The voices of the grassroots supporters and the party's district representatives should be heard," Lin Chia-lung said, adding that the assembly has the right to veto any of the party's nominees.

Asked if some nominees may be ruled out during the assembly, Lin Chia-lung said: "We have set a precedent over the past year," without further elaboration.
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