DPP short by one seat of one-fourth quorum

He corrected himself about the one-fourth quorum for moving to propose a recall of the president at the nation's highest legislative organ.

On Sunday, the day after Liu Chien-kuo of the opposition party won the legislative by-election in Yunlin, the parliament speaker told the official Central News Agency that 28 lawmakers make up one-fourth of membership in the 113-seat legislature.

Prior to Liu's election, the opposition party controlled 27 seats. It will have one more seat when Liu is sworn in.

Wang made the mistake because he forgot his chamber has only 112 members at present because Kuomintang legislator Wu Den-yih quit to take up the premiership.

The opposition party believes it has the one-fourth quorum on the actual 112-seat basis.

DPP lawmakers were so happy with Liu's election that they began planning to move to propose a recall of President Ma Ying-jeou.

They may, Wang said Sunday. But the motion won't be adopted, for they cannot muster a simple majority vote. When the motion is passed, the proposal will have to be voted on, and a two-thirds majority vote may pass it. If it is passed, the president has to resign.

Another legislative by-election must be held in Nantou to fill the seat vacated by Wu Den-yih, Wang said. Should the opposition party win, it will then have the one-fourth quorum for motion.

No date has been fixed for the by-election in Nantou.

In 2006, the Kuomintang and its allies, which held a slim majority in the legislature, tried three times to recall President Chen Shui-bian for corruption. Chen survived all three recall attempts thanks to a boycott by his minority governing party.

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