Prosecutors yesterday searched Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) offices in Taoyuan, Hualien, Taitung and Nantou as part of an investigation into alleged electoral fraud related to the failed recall campaign targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Li-hua (伍麗華).
A total of 15 people were detained for questioning as potential suspects or witnesses, including Huang Pi-yun (黃碧雲) and Lee Te-chuan (李得全), members of the KMT Central Standing Committee’s Organizational Development Committee, the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office said.
The investigation centers on fraudulent signatures from deceased or non-indigenous people submitted in a petition to the Central Election Commission (CEC) for the recall election, it said.
Photo: Lee Li-fa, Taipei Times
Wu, also known as Saidhai Tahovecahe, represents an “indigenous district,” meaning only Taiwanese of indigenous descent are eligible to vote in her election or recall.
Last month, the office requested and received court authorization for the pre-trial detention of campaign sponsor Chang Fang-shuo (張芳碩), an aide to KMT Legislator Lu Hsien-yi (盧縣一), also known as Sasuyu Ruljuwan. Chang faces charges of electoral fraud, forgery of official documents and contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
KMT spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智淵) said prosecutors are investigating KMT members in a politically motivated “tag team” effort.
The relentless and targeted actions are a calculated attempt to undermine the KMT’s operations ahead of the July 26 recall elections targeting 24 of the party’s lawmakers, she said.
Prosecutors are selectively applying the law based on party affiliation, she said, adding that the DPP has forged 150,000 signatures in recall campaigns targeting the KMT without being punished.
She also said that DPP-backed recall campaigns forged 150,000 signatures, a claim that the CEC clarified by removing those signatures from petitions, saying they were invalid, but lawfully gathered.
KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said the DPP is using the judiciary to “annihilate and purge” the opposition party.
The investigation is part of the DPP’s broader strategy to eliminate perceived “impurities” from society, alluding to a recent speech by President William Lai(賴清德) calling for solidarity.
The prosecutors’ actions are eroding public trust in the democratic and judicial system and due process, he said.
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