KMT Adopts Revisions to Party Charter

KMT Adopts Revisions to Party Charter

June 25, 2007

The KMT National Congress yesterday adopted several revisions to the KMT Party Charter, including a revision to Article 43, which originally prohibited party members convicted in a criminal case by a court of first instance from seeking the party’s nomination for public offices. The revision will now allow party members to run for public offices on party tickets until they are convicted on final appeal.

A proviso was attached to the new amendment. It stipulates that if a party member’s conduct is confirmed by either the Clean Government Committee or Central Discipline Committee of the Party as being “harmful to social justice and to the reputation of the Party, he/she shall be deprived of the right to participate in party primaries or to be nominated by the Party to run on party tickets for public offices.”

Facing criticism from the DPP that the amendment is tailored to suit Ma Ying-jeou as he runs for President in the 2008 election, KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi stressed that the KMT was doing so to avoid a trap set by the DPP administration.

Last year, the DPP revised its party charter, adopting a more lenient rule in relation to the nomination of party members for public offices. It stipulates that only when convicted on final appeal will party members be deprived of their right to run on party tickets for public offices, bringing the party in line with state laws and regulations.

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