The Central Election Commission (CEC) last night successfully convinced a pan-blue-governed county to adopt its one-step voting procedure for next month's legislative election and two referendums.
After a dinner gathering with chiefs of several local electoral commissions, CEC Secretary-General Teng Tien-yu (鄧天佑) told reporters that the Taitung County Election Commission had decided not to act on a joint decision made by 18 pan-blue-governed cities and counties to boycott the CEC's one-step voting procedure.
Taitung commission chief Chuang Chung-wen (莊炯文), however, was the only commission chief from the 18 cities and counties to attend the dinner, Teng said.
Teng said the CEC had reached a set of agreements with the six commission chiefs present during the meeting.
It was agreed to install two large signs outside each voting station to remind people they had the right not to collect the referendum ballots, Teng said.
Two other signs would be displayed inside voting stations to designate the places voters should collect the different ballots so as to facilitate the voting procedure, he said.
The commission chiefs agreed there should be at least a 50cm distance between the table distributing the legislative ballots and the one handing out the referendum ballots, he said.
Ballots cast in the wrong box would still be considered valid, he said.
Teng said the CEC would continue to negotiate with the other 17 cities and counties that were absent from yesterday's meeting to understand their concerns about the one-step voting procedure.
A variety of reasons were given for the pan-blue no-shows. The Taichung City and Hsinchu County commissions said they were unable to send anyone because they were in the middle of electing a new chairman.
The Taipei City group flat out rejected the gesture and Taipei County's representative declined, citing health reasons.
Both Hualien and Taoyuan County's local election commission chairmen could not be reached. Their offices said the chairmen had meetings all day and would not show up for the dinner.
Tainan County's chief had originally said yes but pulled out at the last minute, saying that he had to attend a Ministry of Economic Affairs meeting.
Kinmen County said it was not necessary for it to send a delegate.
Central Election Commission Secretary-General Teng Tien-yu (鄧天祐) said the sole purpose of inviting the 18 pan-blue voting district heads to dinner was to give them the chance to voice their concerns over the "one-step voting" system.
However, he reiterated that the CEC would not compromise over the issue, despite speculated by the Chinese-language United Daily News.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have been at each other's throats over the "one-step" versus "two-step" voting system for next month's election since the CEC announced on Nov. 16 that it would adopt the "one-step" system proposed by the DPP.
Under a "one-step" system, voters will be handed two legislative ballots and two referendum ballots upon entering polling stations.
The pan-blue camp wants the legislative ballots to be handed out separately from the referendum ballots.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS