Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communication Committee director Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday rebutted accusations that the party was seeking to benefit itself by planning to hold the legislative and presidential elections on the same day, adding that the KMT would respect the Central Election Commission’s (CEC) decision on the issue.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential contender Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who temporarily stepped down as chairperson of the party to run in the primary, made the accusations on Monday.
The next presidential poll is currently scheduled for March next year, while the next legislative elections are likely to be held in December this year or January next year, based on existing rules.
MERGER DECISION
If a decision is made to merge the two elections, it is likely that the presidential election would be moved forward because the law requires that legislative elections be held before a new legislative session starts on Feb. 1.
The CEC is scheduled to hold a meeting on April 19 to determine whether the two elections should be combined amid challenges that moving the date of the presidential election forward two months could disenfranchise as many as 50,000 first-time voters.
On Monday, Tsai said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration had pushed to combine the two elections because it lacked confidence, adding that the KMT was seeking its own gain via the proposal.
‘CHANGE OF STANCE’
In response, Su yesterday said the KMT respected the CEC and public opinion over the issue, and urged Tsai not to change her stance on the issue based on political considerations.
The DPP, he said, had said it did not oppose combining the two elections after a closed-door meeting on March 6, and Tsai had also been supportive of reducing the number of elections.
“Chairperson Tsai ignored her and the DPP’s previous comments and criticized the KMT’s stance on the issue. She should think about her own remarks and stop being a political chameleon,” he said.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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