KMT lawmaker’s election invalidated over bribery
Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Ruling Kuomintang Legislator Chang Sho-wen’s election was invalidated by a district court Friday after it ruled he was engaged in vote-buying, but the lawmaker from the southern county of Yunlin vowed to appeal his case to a higher court.
Chang won a regional legislative seat in Yunlin County’s second district in January 2008, but his defeated opponent, Liu Chien-kuo of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) , accused Chang of vote-buying and filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate his election.
The Yunlin District Court said in its ruling that Chang Sho-wen was believed to be aware and have taken part in a well-planned and well-organized vote-buying scheme masterminded by his father Chang Hui-yuan, president of an influential local irrigation association.
Chang Hui-yuan was previously convicted of having colluded with the irrigation association’s staff members and grassroots borough chiefs in the county to canvass votes for Chang Sho-wen by offering cash bribes to voters.
As the election bribery case involved many people and a large sum of money and covered a wide range of areas, including the county’s major cities and townships, the court ruling said Chang Sho-wen was unlikely to be unaware of such activities as he claimed during the trial.
The verdict further said most of the defendants in the 14 Chang-related election bribery cases were convicted in the first trials.
Chang Hui-yuan himself was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison after being found guilty of election bribery. He has appealed the decision to the Taiwan High Court.
With so many people convicted in the case, the court contended that it was simply implausible that Chang Sho-wen, as a candidate, did not have any knowledge of such illegal practices.
Upon learning of the district court ruling, Chang Sho-wen said he respects the court’s decision, but stressed that he will definitely appeal his case.
Legislative Yuan officials said that as the case has yet to be finalized, Chang Sho-wen can retain his legislative seat for the moment.
If his appeal is not upheld, however, his conviction would be final under the existing public officials election law, and he would be stripped of his seat.
In that case, a by-election would have to be held within three months of the court’s ruling to fill the opening.
If, however, the court’s final ruling is not handed down until early 2011, with less than a year left in Chang Sho-wen’s four-year term, the seat would then be left vacant until the next legislative elections are held in late 2011 or early 2012.
Meanwhile, Chang’s election rival Liu Chien-kuo said he was grateful for the judges’ ruling.
“I’m hopeful that higher court judges will also mete out a just and impartial judgment to help wipe out election bribery and establish clean politics,” he said. (By Sofia Wu)
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