The schedule for reviewing nominees for the Council of Grand Justices remained stalled yesterday, drawing criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which claimed that the People First Party (PFP) was withholding its confirmation of the schedule as a bargaining chip in separate negotiations over the Control Yuan.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
In a bid to break the deadlock over approving a list of his nominations for the Control Yuan, which was sent to the legislature in December 2004 ahead of the end of the last members' terms in January 2005, Chen sent a letter to each political party last December suggesting that they recommend nominees.
It was widely expected that Chen would make new nominations in proportion to the number of political parties' seats in the legislature, although the Presidential Office rebutted the speculation.
According to Chen's proposal, the president would recommend five nominees, while the DPP, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the PFP, the Taiwan Solidarity Union and the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union would recommend another eight, eight, three, two, and one respectively.
Ker said the PFP was stalling the review of grand justice nominees to try to win one more slot on the Control Yuan nomination list.
Lawmakers across party lines, including PFP Legislator Daniel Hwang (
PFP Legislator Lee Fu-tien (李復甸) rebutted Ker's allegations yesterday, saying Ker had slandered PFP lawmakers, who only wanted to screen the nominees carefully.
"It would be too quick to demand lawmakers to finish the review of eight grand justice nominees in one day during a six-hour meeting," Lee said.
Lee suggested that lawmakers take as much time as they need to review the nominees, adding that a vote each of the on the candidates could be scheduled once their review is finished.
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