New Party legislators yesterday expressed outrage at the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) call for pan-blue voters to consolidate their support and back the KMT. They accused the KMT of trying to boost its own support at the expense of its ally the New Party.
"Voting for the New Party will not weaken the pan-blue camp's power. Pan-blue voters don't need to worry about a pan-blue split if they support the New Party," said KMT Legislator Joanna Lei (
The KMT has been taking out campaign advertisements calling on pan-blue voters to throw their weight behind the KMT, saying that casting ballots for smaller parties would only be a waste of votes and help President Chen Shui-bian (
Lai and New Party legislator-at-large candidate Chou Yan-shan (
They said the pan-blue camp would maintain a majority in the legislature even if the New Party attracted 5 percent of valid votes.
In response to the New Party's condemnation, KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday said the ads were not targeted at any particular small party.
The KMT and New Party remained "brother parties," despite some disputes over the distribution of votes, Wu said.
"There's a 5-percent threshold for party votes, and not every party can pass that threshold. The KMT's advertising campaign is aimed at opposing the DPP and its chairman, Chen Shui-bian," Wu said at KMT headquarters in Taipei.
Former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
"It would be a waste of ballots if they were split. Any waste of votes would only encourage the corrupt government," Lien said.
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