They announced the date after a full-day hearing where the final debate on the case took place yesterday.

Chen Chu, accompanied by a crowd of over 100 supporters, called for justice, wishing the high court judges would confirm her election win from last December 9.

Among the supporters were her Democratic Progressive Party county commissioners, Tsao Chi-hung of Pingtung and Yang Chiu-hsing of Kaohsiung.

She did not attend the hearing, however.

Huang Jun-ying, her Kuomintang rival in the mayoral election, was present at the hearing.

The Kaohsiung district court annulled the December 9 election on June 15 on the grounds that Chen Chu was aware her supporters called a press conference on the eve of the election to accuse Huang of vote-buying. She appealed to the branch high court.

Campaign managers for Chen Chu held a press conference again on Election Day to charge Huang with “distributing per diems” to canvass votes.

The two press meetings, according to the district court, did sway the vote in favor of Chen Chu. She won by a paper-thin margin of 1,114 out of more than 765,000 votes.

“I didn’t lead a crowd to interfere with the due process of law,” Huang said in a statement, “because I believe justice will be done.”

It is up to the high court, whose ruling is final, to either declare Huang the winner of last year’s election or call another election, if it turns down Chen Chu’s appeal.

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