Vote buying rampant?
An article in the United Daily news indicates that vote buying in the new single member districts has become rampant due to the lucrative nature of the new seats. An unnamed local in Taichung tells the prices of the vote buying net.
A community leader (鄰長) -- an elected appointed official -- may be chosen to lead the effort in his community (the smallest administrative unit in Taiwan, apparently), and is offered a one time payment of NT$300,000 (a marked increase over the old price of NT$50,000). These community team captains will then wait until about a week or two before the election and offer up to NT$1,000 for individual votes. Their timing will make them harder to catch in all likelihood.
Vote buying will carry a maximum penalty three to ten years, while vote sellers could face six months to three years.
3 comments:
鄰長 is actually not elected. The lowest elected administrative position is 里長 :)
Just a quick note, a friend whose family lives in Sanchong just told me today that the legislative candidate from you-know-which-party is buying votes at NT$3,000 per person.
Thanks for the corrections! WIll make a note.
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