KMT-proposed legal challenge against CEC makes progress

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) The opposition-controlled Legislature on Friday passed a motion sending a Kuomintang proposal to file an administrative lawsuit against the Central Election Commission (CEC) to a second reading without the need for committee review.

The proposal will be pending caucus negotiations, in accordance with the Law Governing the Legislative Yuan's Power, according to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).

Of the 111 lawmakers who attended Friday's session, all but the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) 51 legislators voted for the proposal.

The KMT initiated the legal action after the CEC in late May rejected its proposed referendum question asking whether judges should be allowed to impose the death penalty without a unanimous verdict.

The CEC said the proposal was rejected because it contradicted a 2024 Constitutional Court ruling that requires unanimous decisions for death sentences. The commission also said the question did not qualify as a major policy issue under the Referendum Act.

During Friday's debate, KMT Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) accused the CEC of overriding public opinion and the DPP of arbitrarily deciding which issues are eligible to be put to a referendum.

A mid-January survey conducted by National Chung Cheng University's Department of Criminology found that a record-high 87.97 percent of respondents opposed abolishing the death penalty.

Meanwhile, Taiwan People's Party Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) criticized the CEC for "disregarding the rule of law."

She argued that under the Referendum Act, when a referendum question is proposed and passed by the Legislature, the authority must directly hold a vote without the CEC having the power to review it.

In response, DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said administrative litigation applies only to CEC decisions for which a hearing has been held. Because no hearing was held regarding the CEC's rejection of the proposed referendum, the Legislature can only file an appeal, he said.

Citing the CEC's explanation, Chung argued that referendums are limited to the creation or repeal of major policies. The proposed death penalty referendum, he said, concerns the creation of foundational legislative principles and therefore falls outside the Act's scope.

As such, he said, the opposition should seek to amend the Referendum Act instead.