Recall elections would likely be held between July 10 and Aug. 19 if the Central Election Commission (CEC) approves the second-stage recall petitions it has received, commission Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said yesterday.
The CEC is scheduled to meet on Friday next week to review 26 second-stage recall petitions, Lee said prior to a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee on a proposal to unfreeze the commission’s budget for this year.
The Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) requires that a recall vote be held 20 to 60 days after a recall is declared, with results announced within seven days of polls closing.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
All second-stage recall petitions have been submitted to the CEC, Lee said, adding that the objective of next week’s meeting is to review the documents and determine if the recall campaigns can continue to the next stage.
If additional documents are required, the CEC would ask recall conveners to submit them as soon as possible, he said.
If any recalls are approved at the meeting, voting would have to be held between July 10 and Aug. 19, leaving six Saturdays available, he said.
Responding to rumors that recall elections would be held on July 26, Lee said that while that day is an option, it is not the guaranteed choice.
The CEC aims to minimize social costs, including the administrative burden of carrying out recall votes, he said.
The commission would likely recommend that any recall elections approved on Friday next week be scheduled on the same day, as they would all have the same 20-to-60 day window, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Wednesday said that the party would enter “combat mode” and launch a nationwide campaign to rally support for its members who are facing recalls.
Recall bids have been launched against 50 lawmakers — 35 from the KMT and 15 from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — as well as suspended Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安), and eight county and city councilors, the CEC said.
To pass the first stage, petitioners must collect signatures from at least 1 percent of eligible voters in a constituency. In the second stage, the threshold rises to 10 percent.
As of yesterday, the CEC had ruled that four proposals targeting KMT lawmakers failed to gather enough signatures in the second stage to proceed.
Most recall campaigns targeting DPP lawmakers did not collect enough signatures before the 60-day second stage deadline or are ongoing.
Four campaigns remain active.
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