Sources from within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that the party would cover half the expenses involved in requesting a recount of Saturday’s Taipei mayoral election after its candidate, Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), on Monday dropped his plan to demand a recount.
Ting, who lost to Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) by just 3,254 votes, had filed an application with the Taipei District Court in the early hours of Sunday morning.
His lawyer, Chou Kuo-tai (周國代), told reporters on Monday that while Ting was no longer asking for a recount, he would still file a lawsuit to attempt to invalidate the election.
Chan Wei-yuan (詹為元), a spokesperson for Ting’s campaign, said voters have been sending evidence that there were major flaws in the way the Central Election Commission and the Taipei City Election Commission handled Saturday’s election.
However, some KMT sources said they were concerned that the lawsuit could take up to a year and affect the KMT’s presidential bid in 2020.
The announcement took the KMT by surprise, sources said.
The party has asked Ting to refile his application and promised to cover half the expenses involved, including a NT$4.28 million (US$138,511) deposit, legal fees and other costs, sources said, adding that Ting has tentatively agreed to the proposition.
Ting’s legal team might refile the application today if it does not change its mind, they added.
According to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Ting has until Saturday to request that the Taipei District Court seal the ballots.
A recount of the ballots must then be completed within 20 days.
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