At least 5 million votes would be needed to pass Saturday's referendum on whether to extend the service life of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced today.
The referendum question reads: "Do you agree that the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operation upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns?"
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
Under the Referendum Act (公民投票法), the vote will pass only if votes in favor account for more than one-fourth of the total eligible voters and outnumber the votes against.
Taiwanese citizens aged 18 or above who are not under guardianship and have lived in Taiwan for at least six months are eligible to participate in the referendum.
The number of citizens eligible to vote is 20,002,091, translating to a minimum threshold of 5,000,523 votes for passage, the CEC said.
The plant was shut down in mid-May, marking the start of a new era in which Taiwan has no operating nuclear power facilities.
While the move aligns with the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) policy of phasing out nuclear power and expanding green energy, the transition has raised questions over its effectiveness, resilience and cost-efficiency.
Among those supporting an extension of the plant's service are those who once backed the DPP's "nuclear-free homeland" policy, including Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Pegatron Corp chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), who was reportedly once approached by President William Lai to head his Cabinet.
The TPP proposed the referendum in the legislature in April, and the bill was passed in May with backing from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The referendum is to be held alongside the second wave of recall votes against seven KMT lawmakers: one from New Taipei City, three from Taichung, one from Hsinchu County and two from Nantou County.
The upcoming recall votes follow a landslide failure late last month, in which civic groups and the DPP attempted to recall 24 KMT lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu mayor Kao Hung-an (高虹安), a former TPP member.
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
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