Over 700 named for electoral violence, vote-buying: MOI

The Ministry of Interior is set to give a report to lawmakers today on the crackdown on vote-buying and other irregular activities that could obstruct the elections.

MOI officials revealed that between the period of Sept. 1 and Nov. 26, law enforcement authorities uncovered 101 vote-buying cases involving 701 suspects and an additional 27 cases in which 39 people had allegedly resorted to violent acts to interfere with the elections.

To cope with possible violence, the MOI has assigned more police officers to provide personal protection at the request of candidates. Five bulletproof vests were provided for five candidates who said they could be targets of violent attacks.

Election irregularities remain rampant in Taiwan, although both the ruling Kuomintang and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have called for police crackdowns to be stepped up.

The two main political parties conceded that the vote-buying practice is more severe than reflected in the figures compiled so far by the MOI. They also increased accusations against each other of condoning schemes by their candidates to buy ballots.

Lawmakers of both parties said the authorities should intensify their crackdown in the final week to ensure free and fair elections.

DPP lawmakers said vote-buying in this year's elections is worse than previous years, showing that the KMT administration is not serious about promoting clean elections.

Justice Minister Wang Ching-Feng, who has been campaigning against vote-buying, said prosecutors around Taiwan and on offshore islands have compiled a long list of as many as 1,751 vote-buying cases as of Nov. 27 following stepped-up crackdown on irregularities.

Among all the cases, 52 suspects were detained in 28 indictments, she said.

Wang said most of the vote-buying transactions were made with cash payments.

She said candidates and their supporters should not break the law since convicted offenders can be jailed between three and 10 years.

It is still rather common for voters, especially those in the rural areas, to sell their ballots for a price, although former KMT leader and President Chiang Kai-shek adopted democratic and free elections in Taiwan more than five decades ago.

The influence and competition among grassroots political power factions in different regions also further complicate local elections on the island.

For the upcoming local “three-in-one elections” that will be held this weekend, eligible voters in 17 of Taiwan's 25 cities and counties will elect mayors, magistrates, city and county councilors, and city and township heads.

Seven other cities and counties -- Taipei County, Taichung City and County, Tainan City and County, Kaohsiung City and County -- will hold their elections for local administrators at the same time as Taipei City next year after they are upgraded or merged into special municipalities that will give them the same status as Taipei City.

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