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Taiwan mulling ways to stop internal party election bribery10/29/2009 (CNA) Taipei, Oct. 29 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior (MOI) will push for passage of a "political party law" to regulate internal party elections, Interior Minister Jiang Yi-huah said Thursday in the wake of alleged rampant vote-buying during the ruling Kuomintang's recent election.The minister made the declaration after President Ma Ying-jeou said in a recent interview with a local magazine "The Journalist" that he supports developing legislation for a political party law to incriminate those who commit vote-buying or bribery in elections for political party positions. Before the enactment of a political party law, Ma said the government may also consider revising the existing Public Officials Election and Recall Law to regulate intraparty elections in order to prevent such elections from being tarnished by bribery or vote-buying. The president further said in the interview that regardless of whether the new regulations will be integrated into the proposed Political Party Act or in the revised election and recall law, prison terms should be included as punitive measures for those who are convicted of vote-buying in elections for political party posts. Ma, who doubles as chairman of the KMT, said that without clear legal regulations to incriminate those who commit vote-buying in elections inside political parties, his administration's lofty goals of political reform and elimination of official corruption cannot be realized. Ma's statement came amid criticism that the latest elections for the KMT's decision-making Central Standing Committee (CSC) was marred by rampant bribery. Echoing Ma's call, some lawmakers have also proposed that elections for political party positions and party primaries for public office elections be put under regulations of the planned Political Party Act or the existing Public Officials Election and Recall Law. Interior Minister Jiang noted that the Public Officials Election and Recall Law already stipulates that no bribery is allowed in party primaries for public office elections. As to elections for political party chairmanship and other party posts, Jiang said, relevant regulations should be incorporated into the proposed Political Party Act which he said his ministry is still working on. "Interior ministry officials are studying relevant legislation and legal revision issues and will keep close contact with legislative caucuses of the ruling and opposition parties in the process, " Jiang said, adding that his ministry will endeavor to seek a social consensus on the anti-vote-buying cause. Responding to complaints by opposition Democratic Progressive Party legislators at a legislative session later in the day that some police officers helped with vote canvassing before the KMT's Oct. 11 CSC elections, Jiang said such acts were not done during police officers' working hours. "The proposed Political Party Act will strictly prohibit such acts and before the law is enacted, I will issue official letters to ask all ministry staff to refrain from being involved in any political party elections," Jiang added. In an indication of its determination to wipe out corruption and establish clean politics, the KMT kicked two members from the CSC for their involvement in vote-buying during the election and all of the remaining members of the committee have decided to relinquish their CSC posts following Ma's open encouragement. As a result, the KMT has decided to elect new CSC members on Nov. 14 and 75 hopefuls have registered their candidacy for the election. But only 73 of the hopefuls meet all requirements to run in the election, according to party sources. (By Su Lung-chi and Sofia Wu) This story has been viewed 89 times. |
