Academics today expressed concern that combining referendums with elections would result in more risks than benefits, as experts and officials gathered to discuss proposed changes to referendum law.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Chih-chiang’s (羅智強) draft amendment would require that referendums be held between one and six months of being announced, and held on the same day as a national election if the dates coincide.
The Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee decided that there would be two public hearings to debate the amendments, the second of which was today, led by KMT Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩).
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
In the hearing, experts said that referendums are often more about politics than genuine public desire.
However, the proposal could be feasible if the referendum’s deliberation and announcement periods are stretched out to longer than six months, they said.
Voting can be a bigger burden when asking citizens to vote on both issues and candidates simultaneously, which could lead to less rational decisionmaking, said Wang Yi-fan (王禕梵), a professor of political science at National Cheng Kung University.
The decision to combine referendums with elections is one of choice, rather than binary right and wrong, National Chengchi University law professor Lin Chia-ho (林佳和) said.
A successful referendum system is one that has sufficient time for full deliberation and ensures that all voters are aware of the issues they are voting on, Lin added.
Referendums are often political tools rather than reflections of public will, and under current conditions, the proposal would do more harm than good, he said.
If the deliberation period is extended longer than six months, it would help focus the public and make the proposal viable, he added.
Under the Referendum Act (公民投票法), officials review proposals within 60 days of receipt and announce referendum dates at last 90 days in advance.
Current regulations limit referendums to once every two years, but under the new proposal, they could happen twice in 12 months, which could overburden the public or increase voter fatigue, said Chen Chi-hua (陳志華), a professor of politics at National Taipei University.
The chaos during the 2018 local elections, which were combined with referendums, was due to technical issues, not systemic flaws, Kainan University law professor Chang Kuei-mei (仉桂美) said.
Chang, who at the time was a member of the Control Yuan and criticized the Central Election Committee (CEC), said that the Democratic Progressive Party failed to address the administrative and technological issues, which has deprived voters of their rights.
Rational deliberation is essential for referendums, CEC Deputy Chairman Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) said.
Separating referendums and elections gives officials enough time to prepare, and helps voters focus on issues separately from candidates, which contributes to democratic consolidation and stability, Chen said.
Regarding suggestions around electronic voting, Chen said that Taiwan’s enemies would want the nation to implement it as a way of undermining democracy, adding that society’s trust is a priority.
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