The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) won yesterday’s legislative by-election in Taichung’s second electoral district, defeating the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) and three other candidates.
Lin received 88,752 votes, or 52.3 percent, versus Yen’s 80,912 votes, or 47.7 percent, unofficial figures from the Taichung Central Election Commission showed, after the votes at all 258 polling stations had been counted. Yen conceded defeat at about 5:50pm.
In her victory speech, Lin thanked voters for their support, and pledged to work hard and serve the constituency.
Photo: CNA
Candidates were running for the position left vacant after former Taiwan Statebuilding Party legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) lost a recall vote in October last year.
In a statement yesterday, the DPP urged the public to “get back on the right track” now that the by-election was over, and show solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
KMT spokesman Ling Tao (凌濤) said the voices of local residents had been “engulfed by the state apparatus.”
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
The KMT would not lose heart, but would continue the fight so that voters could “remove the peremptory ruling party” in the 2024 presidential election, Ling said.
A number of suspected breaches of election laws were reported yesterday, including several people who allegedly took pictures of passers-by or placed cameras near polling stations.
It was reported that people took pictures of passers-by outside the polling stations at two elementary schools, while a man was suspected of using a hand-held counter near another elementary school’s polling station, Lin’s office said.
A woman who placed a camera about 30m from a polling station was asked to leave the site.
However, she allegedly used a camera hidden in a coffee cup to take pictures and was again told to leave.
Taichung police said they had reported the woman to local prosecutors, who would determine whether she was breaking the law.
The Taichung election commission said that a person who is found to have taken pictures with a camera within 30m of a polling station, or interfered with or created a disturbance during an election, could face a sentence of up to two years in prison, short-term imprisonment or a fine of up to NT$150,000, based on the Criminal Code.
Additional reporting by Yang Chun-hui and Lin Liang-sheng
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