A recount of votes cast in the Taiwan election has concluded, but the bitter dispute is far from over. The re-tally has found nearly 40,000 disputed ballots of the 13 million casts.

The re-tally has found nearly 40,000 disputed ballots of the 13 million cast in the March election.

Chen Shui-bian beat opposition leader Lien Chan by a razor-thin 0.2 per cent, or fewer than 30,000 votes, a day after a mysterious assassination attempt against Chen.

The shooting is suspected to have been staged to win sympathy votes and the opposition has filed two lawsuits to overturn the election result.

The local high court must examine every disputed ballot and make a ruling in a process that could take days, if not weeks.

(CRI May 19, 2004)