Friday, September 06, 2013

DPP reveals new recall campaign targeting legislator

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) New Taipei City (新北市) chapter yesterday said that it was launching a recall campaign against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator and legislative caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池).

“The recall campaign is not what people call ‘vicious competition between the pan-green and pan-blue camps,’ but a question of right and wrong, in which we are trying to steer the country on the right path,” chapter director Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) told a press conference held at the New Taipei City Council.

The campaign makes Lin, who represents the city’s sixth electoral district in Banciao (板橋), the second KMT lawmaker named in a joint-recall campaign by the opposition and civic group Constitution 133 Alliance.

The DPP, the Taiwan Solidarity Union and the alliance launched the campaign against lawmakers who they say consistently align themselves with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and ignore public opinion.

KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) of the city’s first electoral district, a confidant of Ma, was the first lawmaker to be targeted.

Lin is the KMT’s deputy secretary-general and executive director of the Policy Research Committee.

Recalling Lin would require the signatures of at least 2 percent of the total electorate in his district to propose the bid and a joint petition from another 13 percent of the total number of voters for the proposal to be legitimate before it can be put to a vote.

Lo said about 4,300 signatures are needed for the first phase to propose the bid and about 28,000 for the second phase from a total district electorate of 213,000.

After that, the recall proposal would require the support of at least half of the eligible voters in the constituency at the time of the original election.