党員投票要求、１４５人　地方からも相次ぐ―自民

　自民党の青年局長経験者は３１日、党本部で二階俊博幹事長と面会し、安倍晋三首相の後継を決める総裁選で党員投票を実施するよう申し入れた。要望書には下村博文選対委員長を含む党所属国会議員１４５人と２２都府県の地方議員ら約４００人が署名。二階氏は「慎重に受け止めて検討したい」と応じるにとどめた。
　署名した国会議員は同党所属の３分の１超に当たる。小林史明青年局長は申し入れ後、「幅広い信任を得た強いリーダーが必要だ」と記者団に語った。
　要望は地方組織からも相次いだ。岐阜、三重、滋賀、大阪、兵庫の各府県連や菅義偉官房長官の地元、神奈川県連が党員投票を要請する文書を同日までに発出。石破茂元幹事長が会長を務める鳥取県連も「党員の唯一かつ最大の権利だ」と訴える申し入れを党本部に送った。（2020/08/31-19:14）

Over a third of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's lawmakers have called for allowing rank-and-file party members to vote in its upcoming leadership election.
   LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai received the request in writing on Monday. The written request was signed by 145 LDP lawmakers including Hakubun Shimomura, chairman of the party's Election Strategy Committee, as well as hundreds of local assembly members from 22 prefectures.
   The move came as the party plans to omit rank-and-file voting from the leadership poll, claiming that it is necessary to select promptly the successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is set to step down for health reasons.
   "We need a strong leader with broad-based support," Fumiaki Kobayashi, director of the LDP Youth Division, told reporters after submitting the request to Nikai.
   At the meeting with Kobayashi and others, Nikai said he will consider the request carefully.