TAIPEI, March 21: Taiwan's high court sealed election ballot boxes on Sunday as protesters massed to contest President Chen Shui-bian's victory after a mysterious assassination attempt and the discovery of many spoiled ballots.
Defeated Nationalist Party contender Lien Chan called for a recount and a special inquiry into the shooting of incumbent Chen on the eve of Saturday's poll that swung the vote in the island's closest-ever presidential election.
The court could select a judge to decide on a recount as early on Monday after Lien questioned how more than 330,000 votes had been ruled invalid. He lost to Chen by about 29,000 votes out of nearly 13 million cast.
A decision on a recount could cause political turmoil and would be a severe test for the young democracy of Taiwan. Joining thousands of cheering supporters staging a sit-in outside the presidential palace, Lien demanded answers to the many questions surrounding Friday's shooting in which Chen and Vice President Annette Lu were slightly wounded.
"Why don't we trust the government? Because there are too many things under a cloud of suspicion," Lien, the scion of one of Taiwan's wealthiest families, told his supporters.
There has been widespread speculation that the shooting may have been staged, but officials have denied this. Media surveys had pointed to a win for Lien and analysts said an 11th-hour sympathy vote may have given this narrowest of wins to Chen who was fired at twice by at least one unidentified gunman.
The president sustained a minor gunshot wound while campaigning in an open-top jeep. Police ordered 10,000 Lien supporters gathered in front of the presidential palace to disperse. "Warning: This is an illegal gathering," read a large notice held up by police.
The demonstrators stood firm, waving Taiwan flags, hooting airhorns and chanting: "Immediate recount, nullify the election." They used blue laser beams to write the characters "A-Bian step down" and "Immediate recount" on the palace tower.
Hundreds of helmeted police in full riot gear and backed by a water cannon were deployed to protect the building. Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-Jeou asked the crowd to leave. "I hope everyone can go home early," he said.
Whatever the result of a recount, Chen faces a tough start to his second four-year term amid doubts about Taiwan's fledgling democratic process, questions over Friday's unprecedented assassination attempt and hostility from China.
A Taiwan high court official said all ballot boxes from 13,000 polling stations had been sealed to preserve the evidence. "It will be difficult to have an immediate recount. A recount has to be decided by a judge," the court spokesman said, adding that a judge would be selected by computer, possibly on Monday.
The ballot boxes were sealed 10 hours after Lien challenged the result because of spoiled ballots. The drama of Chen's re-election was manifest in his narrow win and by the failure of his referendum on boosting defences against China that had been the linchpin of his campaign.
Chen told Reuters last week that re-election without passage of the referendum would make his victory meaningless. Cabinet spokesman Lin Chia-lung rejected Lien's demand earlier in the day for an independent inquiry into the shooting, particularly the ballistics and Chen's medical treatment.
Chen's Democratic Progressive Party dismissed the speculation that the shooting had been staged to help Chen win. "If the bullet had shifted by even an inch, it would have damaged vital organs. A play for sympathy would have been playing games with the president's life," presidential office spokesman James Huang told reporters.
"Since the jeep was moving, how do we find a master marksman to fire a shot but only wound the president?" Chen's medical team published photographs of doctors cleaning Chen's wound to quell suspicions he had not been hurt at all. Authorities have offered a T$13 million ($390,000) reward for information leading to an arrest. No one has yet been apprehended. -Reuters
