Premier Lai Ching-te on Thursday directed the Central Election Commission (CEC) to thoroughly review the overall administration of elections in Taiwan, as the pairing of candidates and referendums as seen in voting last Saturday will likely become standard in the future. The premier's remarks followed a Cabinet briefing by the CEC on the consolidated poll to elect local public officials and decide several national referendums.
The recent election was the largest-scale and most complex of any in Taiwan to date, Premier Lai said. The CEC's failure to prepare thoroughly in advance led to public dissatisfaction and disruption, as the tallying of ballots was not completed until 3 a.m. the following day. The premier said that lessons learned must be taken to heart, with attention paid to public opinion from all quarters. A comprehensive assessment should also encompass both the administrative and regulatory aspects of the recent vote.
Many of the referendum questions are related to policies currently promoted by the Executive Yuan, said Premier Lai, and the government will respect the results and uphold its responsibilities. On issues requiring both administrative and legislative action, the Executive Yuan will maintain a healthy dialogue with the ruling party caucus in the Legislature in order to quickly begin reviewing policy. Rules and procedures laid out in Article 30 of the Referendum Act will guide the government as it works to complete the next steps as soon as possible.
Ahead of future referendum votes, administrative departments must ensure that the public fully understands both the substance of the issues as well as the perspective of the government, so that the nation can more fully debate and consider the questions at hand. In this way, referendums can facilitate a mature democracy that puts the voters in charge and allows for popular, direct legislating by the people.