Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus officials yesterday demanded that the head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) explain its decision to delay a referendum that had been scheduled for next month, but not the recall of a legislator.
The officials said they would next week go to CEC Chairman Lee Chin-yung’s (李進勇) office to have him explain why the commission on Friday postponed an Aug. 28 referendum to Dec. 18, citing COVID-19 concerns, but tentatively scheduled the recall election of Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) for Aug. 28.
The commission said that it would convene on July 16 to discuss whether to reschedule the recall.
Photo courtesy of the KMT legislative caucus
KMT caucus secretary-general Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in an online news conference said she was puzzled as to why the commission had unanimously voted to delay the upcoming referendum on four proposals, while leaving the Chen recall for deliberation.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Jessica Chen (陳玉珍) said that the caucus supports delaying the referendum, but questions the legal basis for the move.
The amended Referendum Act (公民投票法), which separates referendums from general elections, does not provide a legal basis for delaying referendums, the KMT caucus said, calling for an extraordinary session to amend the act to allow for postponements.
The allowance for absentee voting, which the KMT has argued for, also remains unresolved, Jessica Chen added.
Taiwan does not have an absentee voting system, meaning voters must cast their ballots in person in the areas where their households are registered.
These “kinks” need to be ironed out during an extraordinary session, and there is no reason why the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should be afraid of convening such a session, she said.
Cheng also urged the DPP to end what she said was an abuse of its legislative majority and allow the legislature to enact laws for the betterment of Taiwanese, instead of being a rubber stamp for certain political parties.
Additional reporting by CNA
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