Two proposed national referendum questions could be bundled with recall votes against legislators in one election, depending on whether certain conditions are met, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said yesterday.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators asked Lee if the referendums could be combined with recall votes to save costs.
Lee said that it could be done, but the process must conform to the law, reduce expenditures and resources, and would depend on the amount of work needed from election commission personnel.
Photo: Liao Cheng-hui, Taipei Times
KMT Legislator Chang Chih-lun (張智倫) said the recalls and national referendums should be held on the same day, to reduce expenses, resources and administrative workload.
KMT lawmakers, with support from their Taiwan People’s Party colleagues, have placed the referendum proposals on the legislative agenda for a vote tomorrow.
Putting the referendums, which oppose martial law and the abolition of the death penalty, on the ballot would act as a countermeasure to recall campaigns targeting KMT legislators, the parties’ leaders have said.
The earliest recall votes could be held would be in the first weeks of July, but as circumstances and rolling timetables are different for each electorate district, the dates are subject to change, Lee said.
“If a recall petition was submitted today, and if it passes the checks and inspection procedures, it could be formally approved to enter into third stage somewhere in mid-June,” he said.
However, a grace period of 20 to 60 days before the finalization of the recall voting day could mean a vote could be held at the earliest in the first-half of July, he said.
Each electoral district has different processing times and amount of work to be compiled, and the submission dates are different, meaning inspections for fraud and errors would not be completed at the same time, and therefore recall votes might not be held on the same date, he said.
Regarding the costs of holding recall votes, Lee said that the 2021 recall against then-Taiwan Statebuilding Party legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) of Taichung cost NT$20 million (US$660,175 at the current exchange rate).
An unsuccessful 2022 recall campaign against then-independent legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) of Taipei, the singer of the heavy metal band Chthonic, cost about NT$15 million, he said.
“It is difficult to estimate how much a recall vote would cost, as there are numerous factors and uncertainties, including district population numbers, the constituency’s area, composition of voters and population density, and other elements,” Lee said.
The recall votes against Chen and Lee would probably cost about NT$18 million if held today, he added.
As of yesterday, recall campaigners targeting KMT legislators have submitted petitions in the second stage of the recall, which requires signatures from at least 10 percent of voters in a district.
The groups said they expect petitions to be approved for 30 out of 35 targeted constituencies nationwide.
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