From the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/21/international/asia/21TAIW.htmlTaiwan's Leader Wins Election; Tally Is Disputed
By KEITH BRADSHER and JOSEPH KAHN
Published: March 21, 2004
AIPEI, Taiwan, March 20 — President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan was declared to have won a second term by a razor-thin margin on Saturday, but the opposition Nationalist Party called for the election to be annulled and suggested that the president might have staged an 11th-hour assassination attempt to get votes.
The Central Election Commission declared that President Chen had 29,518 more votes than Lien Chan, the leader of the National Party, out of 13.25 million ballots cast, awarding another four-year term to the man whom mainland China, the rival across the Taiwan Strait, has repeatedly labeled as dangerous and willing to risk war to achieve greater independence for this island.
In calling for a court-supervised recount and promising a separate lawsuit to have the entire election annulled, Mr. Lien cited a large number of invalid ballots and uncertainty about what happened on Friday afternoon when President Chen was shot while riding in a motorcade through his hometown, Tainan, in southern Taiwan. He suggested that the shooting might have swayed voters toward Mr. Chen.
"The slim gap has been achieved under layer upon layer of suspicion," Mr. Lien told a teary-eyed crowd of supporters. "It is not a fair election. Prepare to annul the election."
The commission declared
****337,297 BALLOTS TO BE INVALID****
— more than 11 times President Chen's apparent margin of victory. <ahem>
There was uncertainty Saturday night over whether polling places had followed consistent standards in counting votes.
<SNIP>
Imagine if * had a phony assassination in October... <shudder>
:wow:
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(13 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
