Taiwan's election result is likely to be recounted after President Chen Shui-bian asked parliament to change the law to allow ballots to be tallied again if a margin of victory is less than 1 per cent.
Mr Chen, who retained the presidency by a wafer-thin 0.2 per cent, asked his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) today to submit the proposal as a row over the result stretched into a third day.
The motion could break the political deadlock created when Nationalist candidate Mr Lien Chan complained about the high number of spoiled votes and the impact of an assassination attempt on the Mr Chen.
He demanded the result be declared invalid and called for an immediate recount. The high court sealed the ballot boxes on Sunday, 10 hours later.
"We have submitted our proposal to parliament and it is expected to pass today," DPP whip Mr Chen said. The proposed revision would be retroactive, he added.
The Nationalists and their allies - who say they will support the motion - hold a majority in parliament, meaning the passage of such a revision could be swift. Saturday's election result was the closest in the history of Taiwan's young democracy.