Threshold of 77,700 set for Oct. 13 Keelung mayoral recall vote

Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) A special election on Sunday will allow voters to decide whether to recall Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑), with a threshold of 77,700 valid "agree" votes needed to pass, the Keelung City Election Commission said Friday.

The total number of eligible voters for the upcoming recall vote is 310,797, and the election will be held on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with 283 polling stations set up across the seven administrative districts in the northern port city, according to a news release issued by the election commission.

In accordance with the Public Officials Election And Recall Act, Sunday's recall vote will pass if the number of valid "agree" votes exceeds the number of "disagree" votes, and the number of "agree" votes reach more than a quarter (over 77,700 votes) of the total eligible voters in the electoral district, the statement read.

"If the number of valid 'disagree' votes exceeds the number of 'agree' votes, or if the number of 'agree' votes do not meet the required threshold (fewer than 77,700 votes), the recall will be rejected," the election commission noted.

A campaign to recall Hsieh, a member of the main opposition Kuomintang who has been in office since 2022, was initiated in March 2024 following a dispute over the changing of the operator of Keelung E-Square Mall.

The recall campaign also alleges that Hsieh has failed to fulfill his campaign pledges and abused power.