Several academics and civic groups yesterday expressed unanimous support for the need to amend recall regulations during a public hearing hosted by the Ministry of the Interior.
Although participants agreed that the current 50 percent voter turnout threshold for recall referendums is too high, opinions diverged over whether the turnout threshold should be lowered to 33 percent or abolished altogether.
The Appendectomy Project — which led several failed attempts to recall legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — restated its position that recall referendums should not require a turnout threshold and should be determined by a relative majority instead.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Other participants, including National Taipei University professor Chan Yao-hsiang (陳耀祥) and Academia Sinica researcher Wu Chung-li (吳重禮), suggested that the threshold could be lowered to 33 percent of registered voters.
Participants also discussed proposals to lower the threshold for petitions to launch recall referendums.
In order for a recall vote to take place, a recall campaign must garner public support through two petitions: The first requires support from 2 percent of eligible voters in a given constituency; the second requires backing from 13 percent.
While the first-phase petition for a given recall motion faces no time limit, the second-phase petition must be completed within 30 days.
The Appendectomy Project proposed that the threshold for the two petitions be lowered to 1 percent and 10 percent, adding that the time span allowed for the second petition should be lengthened to 90 days.
The group said it was satisfied with the discussions at the public hearing and urged the government to act in accordance with the will of the public.
Appendectomy Project spokesperson Lin Zu-yi (林祖儀) said that although the group failed to recall KMT legislators Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠), Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) and Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆), it seems to have swayed public opinion against the three lawmakers, who have so far failed to garner enough support for the KMT legislative primaries.
“If they have clearly lost public support, why do we have to wait another year or two to get rid of such inept legislators?” Lin asked.
Despite progress during the meeting, Lin said he was “not optimistic” that changes to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) would be passed before the end of the legislative session.
The group aims to promote reforms before the joint presidential and legislative elections in January.
Additional reporting by CNA
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