26 candidates for November local elections are Chinese spouses: CEC

Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) A total of 19,695 candidates have registered for 11,051 positions in the nine-in-one local elections on Nov. 28, including 26 Chinese spouses naturalized as Taiwan nationals, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Michael You (游盈隆) said Monday.

The CEC and local election commissions are scheduled to complete candidate eligibility reviews by Oct. 16 and draw numbers for eligible candidates on Oct. 23, You told a CEC news conference.

Candidate registration closed on Sept. 4.

Compared with the 2022 local elections, the total number of candidates decreased slightly by 130, while the number of Chinese-spouse candidates increased by seven, You said.

However, the changes are in line with long-term trends observed since the first nine-in-one local elections in 2014, indicating stable political engagement over the past 12 years, he said.

Of the 26 Chinese-spouse candidates, two are running for the position of councilor in the six special municipalities, two for county councilor, one for township head, two for township councilor and 19 for ward chiefs, according to You.

You said the eligibility of all candidates will be determined based on current laws, in response to questions about a former celebrity who registered as a candidate despite having relinquished Republic of China (Taiwan) household registration and National Health Insurance coverage and having lived in China for an extended period.

Meanwhile, a national referendum on whether the government should abolish its nuclear-free homeland policy will be held alongside the local elections after being approved by the opposition-led Legislature. The referendum was approved by the CEC on Aug. 28.

The CEC rejected two other referendum proposals approved by the Legislature, one seeking to introduce judicial caning and another proposing that revenue from traffic violation fines be earmarked for road safety improvements and public transportation subsidies.

You previously explained that the two proposals did not fall within the scope of matters that can be put to a referendum under Article 2 of the Referendum Act.