The ruling DPP is expected to hold a meeting of its National Congress tomorrow to finalize nominations of candidates for the year-end elections and discuss proposals -- including revisions to the party's regulations on primary elections.
Also, aiming to expand member participation in the party's highest decision-making body, the congress is likely to pass a vote on whether DPP government officials, such as the president and the vice president, should be appointed as party representatives so as to be qualified to attend the meeting.
Upholding the meeting's theme of "a challenge to ourselves, let's make the DPP the best governing party," party spokesman Phoenix Cheng (
As media speculation mounted that the topic of a coalition government would be hotly debated at the meeting, the party's Justice Alliance (
"It's not likely that the congress will discuss the topic since the party has decided to further hold seminars [on the topic] in mid May," the alliance's chief Chen Chi-mai (
The alliance, however, held a closed-door meeting last night to outline its version of a proposal for a coalition government, to be discussed in the party's future seminars. But Chen Chi-mai refused to disclose any conclusions reached at the meeting.
As for revisions to the party's primary regulations, the Central Executive Committee has proposed to add so-called "anti-black gold clauses" which would exclude from the party's primaries those who had been involved in organized crime from running for public office.
Other revisions to be discussed include: whether possible candidates with dual nationality should be banned from seeking candidacies and whether overseas legislators, once elected, should abandon their foreign nationality. If the latter revision is passed, the DPP's overseas legislators will not be able to seek re-election.
Guest attendants at tomorrow's meeting will include the DPP's President Chen, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) and secretary-general to the president Yu Shyi-kun, the KMT's Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Legislator Cheng Feng-shih (鄭逢時). Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), however, will not attend the meeting due to other engagements, Cheng said.
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