TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — There are no plans to execute convicts during the period running up to the May 20 inauguration of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said Friday (March 8).

He told lawmakers that most of the 37 convicts on death row are waiting for rulings on the constitutionality of their sentences. The Constitutional Court was scheduled to discuss relevant issues on April 23, including the case of a man sentenced to death for his part in the killing of two police officers, per CNA.

Chen said he respected the decisions of the court, while acknowledging there were widely divergent views on the issue of capital punishment. Responding to questions from Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), he said he remembered two executions having taken place during President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) two terms in office since 2016.

Ko called on the Cabinet not to drag its heels on the subject, but to state publicly whether it wanted to abolish the death penalty. She added that according to some opinion polls, up to 88% of the public opposed the end of capital punishment.