A spokesperson for independent presidential candidate Terry Gou (郭台銘) on Friday dismissed allegations of signature buying, saying that prosecutors investigating the claims could confirm that the sites where the alleged irregularities occurred were not official Gou campaign offices.
Huang Shih-hsiu (黃士修) said that the Gou campaign has repeatedly told the third-party companies it works with to observe all laws regarding signature drives.
Several people have been questioned by prosecutors on suspicion of purchasing personal information to use in Gou’s signature drive to appear on next year’s presidential ballot.
Photo: Taipei Times file
On Thursday, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office had 19 people arrested for suspected signature-buying for the Gou campaign.
Among them was Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung chapter member Tseng Jui-han (曾睿涵), who was later released on NT$300,000 bail.
DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) said the incident did not involve the party, adding that party members who contravene the law must face consequences and their party membership would be revoked for breaching party regulations.
DPP Kaohsiung chapter head Hsu Chih-shan (許智善) said that if the allegations against Tseng were proven, Tseng would no longer be a member of the DPP.
Another person arrested on Thursday, also surnamed Tseng (曾), allegedly had more than 10 signatures on her person.
Gou, the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, needs the signatures of 289,667 people, or 5 percent of eligible voters in the 2020 presidential election, by Thursday. They must then pass a review by the Central Election Commission to have his name included on the presidential ballot.
Gou on Oct. 6 announced that he has collected enough signatures to run in the January presidential election as an independent.
The results of the petitions are to be announced by the election commission on Nov. 14.
Additional reporting Ko You-hao, Chen Cheng-yu and CNA
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