Both referendums proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) suffered defeat yesterday.
Out of 17,277,720 eligible voters in nationwide, for the DPP's proposal, the turnout was 26.34 percent. A total of 4,550,881 people voted on it with 3,891,179 affirmative votes and 363,494 negative votes.
For the KMT's proposal, the turnout was 26.08 percent. A total of 4,505,927 people voted on it with 2,304,136 affirmative votes and 1,656,890 negative votes.
PHOTO: OU SU-MEI, TAIPEI TIMES
According to Referendum Law (
The KMT's referendum aimed to empower the Legislature Yuan to set up a special investigative committee to probe any questionable finances of the president and high ranking government officials.
The referendum launched by the DPP called for regulations on the disposition of assets improperly obtained by political parties.
Commenting on the DPP's failed referendum bid, KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
"If the KMT had any illegal assets, the judiciary system can charge us with wrongdoing at any time. But the truth is, we have reported our assets as required by the Control Yuan," he said, adding that it is a "monumental joke" to keep smearing the party.
necessary
Contrary to the pan-blue leaders' call to boycott yesterday's referendums, Demos Chiang (
In his latest entry on his blog baimu yiyan (
He said his support for the referendum is without any bias towards a particular camp, but because the referendum is the "most civilized mechanism that has happened in the history of democracy" and it is also the highest form of respect that politicians can pay for the people's right to choose.
No comments were available from DPP headquarters at press time on the failure of its proposed referendum.
Earlier yesterday however, DPP Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (
"Their behavior is tantamount to rejecting democracy," Cho said. "They set a very bad example for Taiwan and the world. The message they send is that Taiwan is a country where the people cannot enjoy the right to referendum and that a referendum is like a dreadful monster."
DPP Legislator Shen Fa-hui (
Shen said they received complaints that some election personnel hinted to voters that they did not need to pick up the referendum ballots. Some simply told them flat out that they did not need to do so.
setup
Some called out the names of voters picking up the referendum ballots and the setup at some polling stations violated the Central Election Commission regulations, he said.
Shen encouraged voters encountering such problems or any other obstruction at polling stations to immediately report the situation to authorities. He also called on investigators to take the initiative to collect evidence and launch an investigation into any complaints.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
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