"Those who try to violate the central government's policy should understand what results they might have to face, especially the legal repercussions," Yu said in an interpellation session in the Legislative Yuan.

"The decision to have the presidential and referendum ballot boxes in one station was made out of consideration to voters' convenience, and to save money," Yu told lawmakers.

"If we separate polling stations, it would cost the government NT$83 million," he said.

Yu said that in other countries presidential and referendum ballot boxes are usually grouped. He said people should not oppose the issue out of self-interest.

The premier also asked the pan-blue camp not to instigate public opposition to the referendum.

"Those who are preparing to gather in front of the polling stations to discourage voters from taking part in the referendum will be punished," Yu said.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) has agreed to implement the Cabinet's policy that the voting for the referendum and presidential election should be held in the same polling station, but two local governments have decided to adopt different mechanisms to that proposed by the central government.

Maioli County yesterday announced plans to prepare two voting stations, one for the presidential election and the other for the referendum.

"The referendum and the presidential election are two different events, which are regulated by different laws. We must be careful not to make any mistakes, which could cause conflicts and lead to a riot," said Ku Chen-ching, chairman of the Miaoli County Election Commission.

Ku said that security personnel who have been assigned to handle the March 20 voting are opposed to the Cabinet's plan because they are worried about being attacked if the counting of ballots were to be delayed.

"We must seriously recognize the risk of ballots being misplaced and miscounted. The Cabinet never asked our opinion and did not respect our suggestion," Ku said.

Meanwhile, Yunlin County's Election Commission yesterday denied allegations that it had decided to follow Miaoli County's example, saying that the commission would consult with grassroots leaders before making its final decision.

Commenting on Miaoli Coun-ty's plans to separate the polling stations, CEC Chairman Huang Shih-cheng yesterday urged all local governments to abide by the regulations put forth by the CEC.

However, Speaker of the Legislative Yuan Wang Jing-pyng said that the majority of voters, as well as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance, support the idea of separating the polling stations.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) urged Miaoli County not to boycott the referendum, saying that separating the polling stations was more likely to cause social and political chaos.

"The pan-blue camp should not encourage local governments to oppose to the central government in order to harvest ill-gotten political gains from the elections," DPP legislative caucus leader Tsai Huang-liang said.

Tsai said the real reason for the opposition alliance's proposed separation of polling stations was that they are worried that the referendum would benefit the DPP.