The recall vote against Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) on Sunday would need 77,700 votes, or one quarter of all eligible voters in Hsieh’s constituency, to be successful, Central Election Committee (CEC) Deputy Chairman Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) said on Wednesday.
If votes against the recall exceed the number of supporting votes, or if the total votes fail to reach the threshold, the recall would be considered a failure, Chen said, citing Article 90 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
The CEC issued a reminder that on voting day, government organizations, political parties and individuals — including the official under recall and those launching the recall campaign — cannot hold or participate in activities promoting the recall.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
Separately, people on Tuesday said online that the Jhongjheng District (中正) office in Keelung allegedly contravened the recall act by including flyers urging people to vote against the recall in its distribution of cash and gifts for the Double Ninth Festival — a holiday observed on the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar. Civic groups that launched the recall against Hsieh also showed photographs of anti-recall volunteers distributing flyers at the gift handout location.
Hsieh’s party, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), reported the post on Tuesday as contravening the recall act.
The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday said that it had dispatched prosecutors to investigate.
No one should ask, bribe or offer illegal benefits to voters, to compel them to abstain or vote for certain causes, the office said, adding that using words, pictures, records, videos or speeches to spread rumors or make baseless statements to support or campaign against the recall is strictly forbidden.
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