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Presidential election law amended to allow recount

ROC Central News Agency

2007-12-20 17:57:46

    Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) The Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Law was amended Thursday to allow a recount in a presidential election if the difference in the vote shares of the top two candidates falls within 0.3 percent.

    The amended law stipulates that in the event of such a situation, the candidate with the smaller number of votes can file a court petition within seven days for a seizure of all or some of the ballots.

    The court should finish recounting the seized ballots within 40 days and should then notify the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the result.

    The amendment also requires a candidate who petitions for a recount to pay a deposit of NT$3 per vote, which will be forfeit if the results of the recount do not change the election outcome.

    The amendment also states that no recount petition will be accepted if any candidate has filed a lawsuit to challenge the election outcome.

    The amended law will be implemented as soon as it is promulgated by the president.

    At present, a vote recount is only possible through a lawsuit challenging the election outcome, a procedure that can take as long as a year.

    The need for the establishment of a rapid procedure for vote recounts received widespread attention after the 2004 presidential election, in which the vote share of President Chen Shui-bian was only 0.24 percent higher than that of his rival, Lien Chan.

    Lien filed a lawsuit to seek an annulment of the election, but the court determined Chen as the winner after months of proceedings that included a recount.

(By Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/J