TAIPEI (TVBS News) — In a closely contested legislative speaker election on Thursday (Feb. 1), Taiwan People's Party (TPP) candidate Huang Shan-shan received seven votes, falling short by one due to a ballot invalidated by ink.
TPP legislator-at-large Chen Chao-tzu, whose vote was ruled invalid, admitted the spoiled ballot was hers after mistakenly smearing ink onto another candidate's slot. Chen Chao-tzu expressed regret over the error and apologized to the TPP and her supporters.
Lin Kuo-cheng, another TPP legislator-at-large, criticized the ink used for voting, noting its tendency to smear and suggesting the decision by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator and meeting chairperson Ker Chien-ming to invalidate the vote was questionable.
Lin claimed that even vote inspectors appointed by the Kuomintang (KMT) considered the vote for Huang Shan-shan valid. The incident sparked controversy, with the TPP calling for consistent standards in declaring votes invalid.