Taiwan Court Voids Kaohsiung Mayoral Election

A Taiwan court voided the results of December's mayoral election in the city of Kaohsiung.

A Taiwan court on Friday voided the results of December's mayoral election in the city of Kaohsiung, the island's second-largest city, which was decided by a margin of just over 1,100 votes.

The court handed down its ruling late in the afternoon, following a legal challenge by the opposition Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate after he narrowly lost the race to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate.

In its decision, the court cited tactics used by DPP candidate Chen Chu in her mayoral campaign, according to the Central News Agency. More details were not immediately available.

A spokesman for Chen said she would appeal against the ruling.

On Dec. 9, Chen received 379,417 votes, or 49.4 percent of all ballots cast, compared with 378,297 votes, or 49.3 percent, for KMT candidate Huang Chun-ying.

Some analysts had seen the race in Kaohsiung as a possible preview of presidential elections in 2008, with many predicting the KMT could win the race in the traditional DPP stronghold due to disenchantment with President Chen shui-bian.

President Chen, along with family members and aides, have been embroiled in a series of scandals.

Chen's DPP favours more independence from China, while the KMT takes a more conciliatory stance on relations with Beijing.

The KMT, which ruled all China until fleeing to Taiwan in 1949, filed its suit in Kaohsiung, alleging that Chen Chu's campaign influenced the results ahead of the election by accusing the KMT of vote buying, a party official said.