KMT makes more crazy claims

The CEC's decided this election to allow votes cast into the wrong box to still count. Remember, there's four ballots and four boxes. The boxes will be opened and counted one at a time. The final count will not be released, of course, until all four boxes are opened and counted. The entire process is monitored by lawyers and video taped.

KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) is asserting that this decision is aimed at intentionally de-railing the election. See, the idea is that in those districts where the vote count is very close between a DPP candidate and KMT candidate, vote counters may open another box and "suddenly discover" a large number ballots (the unspoken part being that these would be DPP votes). He says this will ruin the election, allow President Chen Shui-bian "to make another announcement" (a reference to martial law). Wu said, "This is already a very unfair election."

I mean, this is clearly just not true, and it's a total smear on the CEC. The reason to count votes from all boxes is that the KMT claimed in 2004 that the very high number of invalid votes indicated fraud on the DPP's part, hence the need for a recount. So the CEC decided to take away one of the main reasons people accidentally cast invalid votes (putting the ballot in the wrong box) and also to color code the ballots with matching colored boxes. Jesus Christ!

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I guess KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou figured that wasn't enough crap for one day, and in the face of criticism from President Chen that the Communist Party and KMT are opposing the referendum hand in hand, Ma came out to say it was not the referendum the KMT was opposing, but "kidnapping" the election with the referendum. He claimed handing out the ballots at the same election was "incorrect and unfair," that the KMT was the main force behind passing the referendum law, and that the DPP is just trying to "kidnap, ruin and destroy the election."

Honorary KMT Chairman Lian Chan (連戰) also said that holding the referendum and regular elections together was illegal, but that the judges just "don't have the guts" to do anything about it. The KMT has repeatedly claimed that normal democratic countries to not hold referendum votes and other votes at the same time, that the action is illegal in Taiwan.

Sorry Lian Chan, but if it was illegal and you knew it, why did you fund and raise signatures for your own referendum knowing it would be held at the same time as the election? Why are you ignoring the decision by the high court that this is in fact legal under the current law (I'm not making that up, am I)?

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The rhetoric coming out of the KMT on this stuff is totally out of control and paranoid. And I don't think they actually believe the DPP wants to derail democracy and the elections, but they're trying to convince voters of it. And the Pan-blue media plays right along. They can't possibly believe this shit.