TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Voters wearing outfits bearing the national flag of Taiwan will be allowed to cast their ballots in the January elections, the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday (Sept. 23).

Lee Chin-yung (李進勇), chairperson of the CEC, noted that people dressed in a Taiwanese flag theme will not be prevented from exercising their right to vote in 2020, but those whose outfits bear obvious references to particular candidates will be prohibited from voting, reported the Liberty Times.

Banned images include pictures of candidates; political party logos; and specific numbers, patterns, or words denoting information of a political nature, said Lee. He made the remarks during a briefing on the preparations to elect the island's next president and legislators.

Lee was addressing a question posed by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳), who referenced the considerable number of participants garbed in flag-themed clothes at rallies for Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜). She also urged the island’s electoral authorities to clearly lay out rules on the topic of patriotic apparel to avoid controversy, according to the report.

Seas of Taiwanese flags have become an iconic scene at rallies organized for the KMT presidential candidate. Senior Taiwanese media commentator Li Yan-qiu (李艷秋) has suggested that the phenomenon is a result of voter disenchantment with the ruling DPP, which she blasted as “opposing the Taiwanese flag while manipulating national identity issues.”