Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) filed a lawsuit Tuesday to have the the Nov. 24 Taipei mayoral race annulled as a recount was set to be completed later that day.

Ting lost to the independent incumbent Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) by 3,254 votes in the first count on election night and requested a recount four days later, claiming irregularities and major flaws in the voting process.

For instance, it was widely reported that votes were being counted and the results released before the polls closed in Shilin District, which allowed voters to check the results online while they were waiting to cast their ballots, Ting said.

The Taipei District Court deployed 50 teams for the recount, each comprising a judge, a court clerk, two polling clerks and lawyers representing Ko and Ting.

Ting said in a statement that the chaos in the Nov. 24 local government elections have tarnished Taiwan's democratic image, adding that he was considering bringing a lawsuit against the Central Election Commission and the Taipei City Election Commission.

Ting argued that votes should not have been counted until after all ballots had been cast.

He also suggested that the local elections and referendums should in future be held at separate polling stations.

On Nov. 24, voting in the local government elections, along with 10 referendums, was scheduled to end at 4 p.m., but at some of Taipei's 1,563 polling stations, the closing time was extended due to the long lines of people waiting to cast their ballots.

In the five-way race for Taipei mayor, Ko received 580,820 votes, or 41.05 percent of the votes cast, against Ting's 577,566 votes (40.82 percent).

(By Liu Chien-pang and Evelyn Kao)
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