With three days to go before Saturday’s county commissioner and mayoral elections, prosecutors have stepped up efforts to drive out phantom voters, especially in the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu.
In the two outlying counties, where the number of voters is small, an election can be decided by a slim margin. Prosecutors said that was all the more reason for them to weed out phantom voters — people who take up residence in local areas four months before the election date for the sole purpose of being eligible to vote for specific candidates.
Some of these voters are paid by people who support particular candidates in a bid to sway the election outcome.
Last month alone, the authorities mobilized more than 200 policemen, searched 20 residences and summoned 117 people for questioning in two waves of checks for alleged phantom voters, media reports said, citing the prosecutors as saying that the number of phantom residents was 3,215 in Kinmen — nearly double the number (1,613) in the local elections four years ago.
Law enforcement authorities said that several hundred phantom voters were linked to “Tian Tao Meng” (The Celestial Way) gangsters from Taiwan proper.
In the past, law enforcement officers would simply leave if a residence they tried to check was locked. But this time, the officers are returning to the same homes up to four times in a few hours, reports said.
Seven candidates, the most among the 17 cities and counties where elections will be held, are vying for commissioner of Kinmen.
The rivalry is fierce, and Lee Wo-shi (李沃士), a candidate nominated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), has even campaigned in Taipei City and County, where around 60 percent of more than 20,000 eligible Kinmen voters now reside.
The total number of eligible voters in Kinmen is about 72,500, compared with about 7,700 in Matsu.
Efforts to root out phantom voters in Matsu are also intense.
Lin Ching-tsung (林慶宗), chief prosecutor at the Lienchiang Prosecutors’ Office in Matsu, was quoted by local media as saying that the office began looking for phantom voters in January and was investigating 261 cases.
The prosecutors are also examining the passenger lists of airliners and ferries as well as the guest lists of hotels and hostels.
With rampant rumors of phantom voters arriving in Matsu, Lin said his office “is pulling out all the stops” to “ensure a fair and just election.”
Meanwhile, airlines announced they had added more flights to Kinmen and Matsu starting tomorrow for residents of the islands who plan on going home to vote on Saturday.
A total of 16 flights have been added, but all were quickly booked and have long waiting lists, the airlines said.
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