Independent presidential hopefuls who collect enough signatures to qualify for the Jan. 13 presidential election would not be in contravention of the law if they drop out as long as they have not registered their candidacy with the Central Election Commission (CEC) as a candidate, CEC Chairperson Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said yesterday.
Independent presidential hopefuls and their running mates, who are required to pass a petition threshold to qualify, can register as petition initiators with the CEC from today until Sunday, and can submit signatures from Tuesday next week to Nov. 2, the CEC said.
The results of the petitions would be announced by Nov. 14, it added.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
On whether independent presidential hopefuls who have launched a petition for candidacy would be in contravention of Article 30 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) if they later decide to pull out of the race, Lee said: “If they do not register, withdrawal is not an issue. If they have registered, then withdrawal is out of the question.”
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) last month announced his presidential bid, but has yet to announce his running mate.
Asked if independent presidential aspirants are legally liable if they abandon their campaign after submitting signatures to the commission, Lee said such an action would not be an infraction, as that would just mean they have forfeited the opportunity to register as presidential candidates.
“The decision of whether or not aspirants register as candidates falls within their civil right to participate in political affairs, and the CEC shall respect that decision,” CEC Vice Chairperson Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) added.
“However, once they have registered as candidates under the act, they cannot withdraw their candidacy,” he said.
Candidates nominated by parties or independent candidates who collect enough signatures to qualify as candidates in the presidential election are required to register from Nov. 20 to 24.
Under the act, independent presidential hopefuls must obtain 289,667 signatures, or 1.5 percent of eligible voters in the previous presidential election, to qualify as candidates.
Those who attempt to “negotiate other candidates out” of the election by promising or giving them bribes or other undue benefits risk a prison term of three to 10 years and a fine of NT$2 million to NT$20 million (US$62,438 to US$624,376) under the act, Chen said.
Those who attempt to bribe eligible voters to petition for or against a presidential hopeful face a prison term of one to seven years and a fine of NT$1 million to NT$10 million, he said.
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