TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Supporters of the ongoing campaign to recall Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) received troubling news this week from the Keelung election commission.
After obtaining the required signatures to initiate a public referendum and recall Hsieh, it was reported on Thursday (July 18) the commission plans follow-up inquiries on nearly 20,000 of the 43,000 signatures submitted with the recall petition, reported UDN.
The news came as a shock to organizers with the Shanhai Citizen’s Movement to Take Down Liang, who expressed concern the commission found so many irregularities among petitioner's signatures.
For comparison, during the second phase of the recall campaign in Kaohsiung that removed Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) from office in 2020, about 2,000 petition signatures received follow-up inquiries. In that recall campaign, around half of the signatures marked for inquiries were disqualified, per UDN.
If the disqualification rate is similar in Keelung, then organizers fear they may fall just short of the threshold required to initiate the public vote. According to previous reports, 31,000 valid signatures, or 10% of the Keelung electorate, are required to schedule a recall vote.
Since the deadline to determine the validity of signatures is set for Aug. 17, campaign organizers are skeptical that such a large number of follow-up inquiries can be completed in one month.
Li Yan-rong (李晏蓉), spokeswoman for the Shanhai Citizen’s Movement to Take Down Liang, said the commission appears to be restricting the right of people to recall their elected officials, and said the huge number of follow-up inquiries planned runs counter to the principle of proportionality.
The director-general of the Keelung election commission, Chang Yuan-hsiang (張淵翔), defended the work of his office. He said they are following standard signature verification measures, and will protect the private information of petitioners throughout the process for conducting follow-up inquiries.
In an interview on Thursday (July 18), Keelung City Councilor Cheng Wen-ting (鄭文婷) questioned the neutrality of the commission. The DPP councilor publically called on Chang Yuan-hsiang to resign from the commission to ensure a fair review process, reported Formosa TV.
In the coming weeks, the campaign to oust Hsieh intends to strengthen its efforts to inform residents on what steps they should take if they receive a follow-up inquiry from the commission.
