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Lee Tien-yu reaffirms right of military to vote

"I will definitely respect that military personnel also have their right to vote for their favored candidate ... I will take personal responsibility for that."

Lee Tien-yu, minister of national defense

Minister of National Defense Lee Tien-yu (李天羽), answering questions from lawmakers at the legislature yesterday, promised that the military would not interfere with the right of military personnel to vote in the election.

"I will definitely respect that military personnel also have their right to vote for their favored candidate. I guarantee you that our regular military assignments or security measures will not interrupt their voting plans. I will take personal responsibility for that,'" Lee said.

Lee's remarks referred to the military's activation of the national security mechanism following the assassination attempts on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on the eve of the 2004 presidential election.

The opposition claims that 200,000 military personnel, traditionally seen as supporters of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), were confined to bases and therefore unable to vote, resulting in a narrow victory for Chen and Lu.

KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-ming (帥化民) brought up the issue yesterday and asked Lee to ensure there would be no repeat while asking Lee to ensure the legal right of military personnel to vote.

Lee said that it was natural for the military to increase security measures on election day and that meant that some service personnel would therefore not be able to return home and vote. But he said he would make sure that most military personnel would be able to carry out their legal rights as citizens while maintaining the necessary manpower required for national defense objectives at the same time.
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