The Miaoli District Prosecutors Office on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking to nullify the election of county Magistrate-elect Chung Tung-chin (???) amid allegations his supporters handed out cash bribes to voters.

According to lead prosecutor Chuang Chia-wei (???), a man surnamed Chen (?), who was the campaign office director for Chung and Dahu Township chief candidate Fu Sung-lin (???), along with a man surnamed Lin (?) and a woman surnamed Chiu (?), allegedly engaged in vote-buying on behalf of Chung and Fu, as well as Dahu Village Chief-elect Fu Hsien-jung (???) and two Dahu Township representative-elects.

Prosecutors said Chen, Lin, and Chiu distributed between NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 to each voter, adding that precedent would merit the annulment of election results where there is proof of vote-buying.

Candidates shall be deemed to have engaged in vote-buying if they partook, abetted or condoned vote-buying committed on their behalf by friends, relatives or campaign office staff, regardless of whether the bribes originated from the candidates themselves, prosecutors said, citing the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act.

In a statement issued through his campaign office, Chung "strongly protested" the lawsuit, accusing the prosecutors' office of serving a "certain political party" at the expense of judicial neutrality and independence.

Chung, who was expelled by the Kuomintang (KMT) for running against the party's candidate in the Miaoli magistrate election, said that he had not had any personal contact with Chen, who he said served as his campaign officer director "in name only."

Chen has denied any engagement in vote-buying in the magistrate election, Chung said.

The prosecutors rejected both his and Chen's testimonies and sued him on a presumption of guilt in an attempt to change the election results, which trampled on Taiwan's democratic system and the rule of law, he said.

He vowed to seek legal recourse and gather evidence on the prosecutors office's "abuse of power" before filing a report with the Control Yuan, the branch of Taiwan's government responsible for investigating and disciplining civil servants.

Sung Kuo-chen (???), a spokesperson for the district court, said that Chung would still be able to keep his magistrate's title should he lose the first trial but would be stripped of that title if the Taiwan High Court ruled against him in a second trial.

The court at each level has six months to adjudicate on the case, Sung said.

According to the Miaoli County Civil Affairs Department, should there be two years or more remaining following a mayor or magistrate's removal from office, a by-election should be held within three months of the official's removal.

If the remainder of the term is less than two years, an acting mayor or magistrate shall be appointed by the central government, the department said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel