Officials from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said they would not accept the resignation of newly elected New Taipei City (新北市, the proposed English name of the upgraded Taipei County) Councilor Adrean Lee (李婉鈺), who had announced at a press conference that she would quit the party over a ballot controversy.
Announcing her resignation from the party yesterday, Lee said she was “deeply sorry for hurting the party and its supporters” by failing to vote for the DPP’s nominee for council speaker in Saturday’s elections.
As the only member of the DPP in the New Taipei City Council who apparently failed to do so, Lee has since insisted that she accidentally voted for herself because she was extremely nervous and denies she had ulterior motives.
PHOTO: CNA
“I swear on my life I did not purposefully vote for the wrong person or cast a runaway vote,” she tearfully said.
Runaway ballots cast against the parties’ official nominees were a sore point for both parties during the speaker elections.
A source within the party said Lee and other New Taipei City DPP councilors were given mock ballots on three separate occasions prior to the vote, suggesting it was unlikely she misread the names on the ballot.
The controversy reveals the importance the DPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have placed on curbing the practice of runaway ballots. Some party officials said the practice was likely influenced by political corruption or local “black gold” elements.
After the election, the KMT announced it would investigate the surprise win of Chou Po-ya (周柏雅), a DPP councilor who beat an incumbent in the Taipei City Council by one vote — despite the DPP trailing by eight seats. Similarly, the DPP has said it would investigate how it lost a speaker vote in Greater Kaohsiung despite the parity in seats held.
Lee’s resignation of her lifelong membership in the DPP likely represents a pre-emptive move ahead of a meeting of the DPP’s Central Standing Committee, which will gather to discuss her case this afternoon. Party officials said she could either be disciplined or see her membership revoked.
However, DPP spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said Lee’s resignation would not be accepted because of DPP regulations on ongoing disciplinary proceedings.
“It’s clearly stated in the DPP Charter,” he said. “You can’t just leave the party when you want to.”
The insistence stems from the different treatment given by the DPP to former members who resigned and those who were stripped of their party affiliation. Former members that have been removed from the party are barred from rejoining for a period of time, a move that could possibly affect Lee’s re-election bid in 2014.
Despite the proceedings, Lee’s vote would not have made a difference in the New Taipei City Council speaker elections, in which the DPP nominee lost by five votes.
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