The Central Election Commission (CEC) is next month to hold an administrative hearing to decide on whether to hold a referendum next year on a proposal to expedite the execution of prisoners on death row, it said yesterday.
As of February, Taiwan had 38 death row inmates, Ministry of Justice data showed. All of them are seeking constitutional interpretations of their sentencing.
Taiwan Lily Justice Association chairman Hsu Shao-chan (徐紹展) is the main force behind the proposal.
Photo: CNA
The referendum would ask voters whether they agree to amend Article 145 of the Prison Act (監獄行刑法) by adding that the death sentence should be carried out within six months of the final judgement. The proposed amendment would stipulate that the execution must continue unless otherwise stated in the act.
The commission last week issued a statement saying that it would hold an administrative hearing to settle potential issues with the proposal.
“The most controversial part of the case is that it specifically states how the law should be changed. The referendum should be administered to decide whether a new legislative principle should be created, because the wording of a new law must be very precise. We are not sure whether the person wants to establish a new law or a new legislative principle, and a hearing is to be held to clarify those issues,” CEC Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) told a joint meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration, and Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes committees.
Meanwhile, Lee told the committees that an electronic system for people to sign referendum petitions would become operational within six months of the Administration for Cyber-security completing a final test of the system.
“Cybersecurity experts from the Executive Yuan came to the CEC in July last year and identified 42 items that need reinforced protection,” Lee said. “The Administration for Cyber-security also conducted a safety test of the system and asked the commission to address safety issues with these 42 items.”
“We completed measures to bolster the security of these 42 items by the end of last month and presented results to the Administration for Cyber-security. So long as the administration verifies the results, we are confident the system could be up and running in six months,” Lee said.
The New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday criticized the CEC for the delay in launching the electronic system.
“It has been six years since the amendment to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) was passed in the legislature, and the system is not yet available. The commission has been giving various reasons to delay the launch of the system,” NPP Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭) said.
The commission must periodically report its progress to the people, Wang said.
“Should the CEC fail again to launch the system as it promised, it must take political responsibility, apologize to the public and propose solutions,” she said.
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