TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Campaigners submitted documents to initiate recall campaigns against 19 KMT elected officials on Monday, meaning they will avoid needing to follow changes to the recall law that the ruling DPP is currently in a last-ditch effort to oppose.
The Central Election Commission said it received the submissions before 10 a.m. and will review them to ensure they meet the filing requirements, per CNA. It said according to the recall law, additional requirements outlined in amendments will not apply to the submissions because they are still under consideration.
The changes to the recall law, which passed a third reading in the legislature in late December, would increase the number of signatures required to initiate a recall. They would also require petitioners to submit photos of their national ID cards for their signatures to be valid.
The Cabinet sent the changes back to the legislature on Sunday, demanding further review. If opposition legislators vote to pass the amendments through again, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) must sign them into law.
KMT Caucus Chair Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) said Monday that discussions between the ruling and opposition parties are expected on Thursday afternoon. Fu said the legislature will vote on the review requested by the Cabinet on Feb. 11.
The recall campaigns against the opposition parties’ elected officials are spearheaded by civic groups with the support of the DPP legislative caucus, Taiwanese tech billionaire Robert Tsao (曹興誠), and grassroots activists. They were in response to legal changes to the constitutional court, the legislature, and other areas passed by opposition parties that critics labeled unconstitutional.
Campaigners submitted petitions for recall against the following KMT elected officials:
- Hualien Legislator and KMT Caucus Chair Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁)
- Taipei Legislators Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) and Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀)
- New Taipei Legislator Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之)
- Taoyuan Legislators Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭), Tu Chuan-chi (涂權吉), Lu Ming-che (魯明哲), Wan Mei-ling (萬美玲), Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲), and Chiu Jo-hua (邱若華)
- Hsinchu Legislator Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐) and suspended Hsinchu Mayor Kao Hung-an (高虹安)
- Nantou Legislator Yu Hao (游顥)
- Taichung Legislators Yen Kuang-heng (顏寬恒), Liao Wei-hsiang (廖偉翔), Huang Chien-hao (黃健豪), and Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋)
- Yunlin Legislator Ting Hsueh-chung (丁學忠)
- Taitung Legislator Huang Chien-pin (黃建賓)
