An anti-vote-buying and election-related violence task force was launched yesterday by the State Public Prosecutor General's Office under the Supreme Court's efforts to stamp out election-related crimes ahead of the next legislative elections.
Court officials quoted State Public Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) as saying on Monday that with the launch of the national-level task force, similar executive ad hoc groups would also be activated under local police departments around the nation.
The task force and local ad hoc groups are being launched six months ahead of the Jan. 12 legislative elections as the competition in those polls was expected to be more ferocious than in the past, the officials said.
Law enforcement authorities expect that vote-buying and other election-related irregularities could be more prevalent during the run-up to the polls.
The January elections will be the first held under the "single-member constituency, two votes" system.
Candidates will be running for a reduced number of seats because the legislature is being halved to 113 seats.
To enhance operational efficiency, the court officials said, a "heavy reward, heavy punishment" system will be put in place to encourage local police officers to actively investigate vote-buying charges.
Chen was also quoted as saying that law enforcement personnel should follow independent and fair procedures to probe and crack down on suspected vote-buying and other election-related crimes.
He also urged the police to resisting pressure from local political factions, and freeing themselves from undue consideration of any suspect's status, background, or party affiliation.
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