News
Kaohsiung Mayor Han recalled
By ECCT staff writers
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu was successfully recalled today in a vote held today. Of the 969,259 Kaohsiung residents participating in the vote, 939,090 (97.4) voted in favour of his recall and 25,051 (2.6%) voted against his recall. 42.14% of Kaohsiung’s electorate participated in the recall vote, exceeding the minimum of threshold of 25% of the electorate participating to make the vote valid.
It was the first successful recall vote of a standing politician after the threshold required to hold a recall vote was lowered to 25% in legislation passed in November 2016. It was also the first mayoral recall held in Taiwanese history.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has announced that Mayor Han must vacate his office by 12 June. According to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, a by-election must be held within three months to choose a new mayor. In the interim period, the Executive Yuan will appoint an acting mayor.
Han may launch a legal challenge to results. If he does so, a by-election cannot be held until the resolution of the case. A by-election will be held only if there are more than two years remaining in the mayor’s term.
