Officials of the ruling DPP said yesterday that there would be no investigation into the alleged spoiling of ballots in Friday's election for vice speaker and that no punishments in this regard would be meted out.
The DPP has been licking its wounds since its defeat in the election for the vice-speakership on Friday.
Three of four invalid ballots during the first round of the vote are suspected to have been deliberately spoiled by DPP legislators, according to Chinese-language media.
Lawrence Kao (
The party's candidate was Hong Chi-chang (
Kao said that the caucus should quickly investigate and added that he would urge the Central Standing Committee at its meeting today to take up the matter.
Hong won 108 votes in the first round but secured only 106 in the second, in which he was defeated by the KMT's Chiang Ping-Kun (
Officials from the party's caucus and headquarters said that no investigation or disciplinary measures will be carried out.
"None of our members failed to vote for our candidate," said Tsai Huang-liang (
"The party's caucus won't address this issue," Tsai added.
DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (
One of the party's caucus chiefs, Hsu Jung-shu (
"It is wrong to accuse members for the defeat. Rather, we should punish those members who spread such rumors," Hsu said.
In Friday's election, two legislators flouted a party order to show their ballots. One of these was Chiu Chang (邱彰), who refused to show her ballot, prompting a row with her colleague, Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩).
Chiu Chang said in a press release yesterday that the party should not blame members for Friday's defeat, "especially when it doesn't have any evidence to prove those accusations."
Tsai Huang-liang, another of the party's caucus chiefs, though, said that the caucus would discipline Chiu Chang over her argument with Chiu Yi-ying, which, he said, had "weakened party morale."
Meanwhile, KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (
Tsai Huang-liang denied the accusation and said that none of the party's members received any money.
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