Taiwan President re-elected, rival says vote invalid

Taiwan President Chen Shui-Bian was re-elected on Saturday, a day after he was hit by gunfire from a would-be assassin.

Ten thousand supporters gathered outside Chen’s Taipei headquarters, waving the green banners of his Democratic Progressive Party and setting off firecrackers when news broke that Chen had taken an unbeatable lead. Taiwan’s Central Election Commission said Chen had won by about 30,000 votes.

However, Nationalist Party opponent Lien Chan challenged the razor-thin result, describing the election as unfair and invalid and saying he would ask for a recount.

‘‘We want to raise a motion to declare the election invalid,’’ Lien said at his campaign HQ. —(Reuters)