Recall votes could be held between July 10 and Aug. 19: Official

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) Public votes determining the fate of up to 26 opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers will be held between July 10 and Aug. 19, if recall proposals against them clear the final hurdle later this month, Central Election Commission (CEC) head Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said Thursday.

Speaking at a legislative meeting, Lee said Taiwan's top election body would hold a meeting on June 20 to decide whether recall campaigns targeting an estimated 26 KMT lawmakers would proceed to public votes.

The date of such votes would fall on a Saturday between July 10 and Aug. 19, Lee added.

His comments followed a statement issued by the CEC last week saying local election authorities were still verifying second-stage petition signatures for recall initiatives targeting 31 KMT lawmakers, including Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁), Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) and Hsu Chiao-hsin (許巧芯).

Under Taiwan's election laws, once a recall initiative passes the second stage, a vote must be held within 20 to 60 days of the CEC's official confirmation.

In light of the possible recall votes, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said Wednesday the party would enter "combat mode" and launch a nationwide campaign to rally support for its lawmakers.

According to the CEC, recall bids have been launched against 50 lawmakers -- 35 from the KMT and 15 from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) -- as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and eight county and city councilors.

To pass the first stage, petitioners must collect signatures from at least 1 percent of eligible voters in a constituency. In the second stage, the threshold rises to 10 percent.

As of Thursday, the CEC had ruled that four proposals targeting KMT lawmakers failed to gather enough second-stage signatures to proceed.

Meanwhile, most recall petitions targeting DPP lawmakers either failed to collect enough second-stage signatures before the 60-day deadline or are still ongoing. Four campaigns remain active within their signature collection periods.