CEC chief urges restraint on referendums, rejects absentee voting

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Michael You (游盈隆) on Monday urged lawmakers to limit the number of referendum initiatives that could be held alongside Taiwan's year-end local elections, saying the country's election system has finite administrative capacity.

Speaking at a press conference, You said holding referendums alongside the Nov. 28 local elections has become "a necessary trend," after the opposition parties passed an amendment on Nov. 21, 2025 enabling national referendums to be held on the same day as the local elections.

In recent months opposition lawmakers have discussed plans to advance several referendum proposals.

He stressed that the remark reflects an assessment of the political situation rather than any official CEC position on the proposals themselves, after ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers criticized him for assuming referendum proposals would be approved.

You also called on lawmakers from all parties to take the election system's capacity into account when promoting referendum initiatives, saying "one referendum would be manageable, two would already be demanding, and three would be more than election authorities could reasonably handle."

"The smooth conduct of elections is the highest priority," he said.

Taiwan's "nine-in-one" local elections are among the world's most complex, with voters casting multiple ballots on the same day to elect mayors, county magistrates, city and county councilors, township and ward chiefs, and other local officials, You explained.

Against that backdrop, You reiterated his opposition to introducing absentee voting in local elections, saying combining absentee voting with the nine-in-one polls would be "a disaster."

He said broader public discussion and political consensus would still be needed before absentee voting can be introduced in Taiwan.

The remarks came as the opposition continues to discuss placing five referendum proposals before voters, on the same day as the local elections.

The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) plans to pursue referendums on restoring nuclear power generation, opposing the abolition of the death penalty, and introducing caning for people convicted of certain serious crimes.

Meanwhile, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) has proposed referendums on introducing absentee voting for presidential, legislative and nationwide referendum elections, and earmarking all traffic fine revenue for road safety improvements.