Taipei Times
Date; Oct 03, 2018
By: Ann Maxon / Staff reporter
The Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday confirmed that a referendum to phase
out thermal power plants proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) is to be held on Nov. 24 alongside the nine-in-one elections, but added that all forged signatures found in the petitions would be reported to prosecutors so that criminal charges could be brought.
It was “with a heavy heart” that the commission decided to pass the proposal and report the forgeries to prosecutors, commission Vice Chairman Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) told a news conference in Taipei after a meeting to discuss how to handle the forged signatures.
Lu on Aug. 27 submitted to the commission 497,243 signatures backing the proposed referendum.
Local household registration offices found 314,395 to be valid, after removing 182,848 signatures that failed to meet the legal requirements, the commission said, adding that the valid total still passed the legal threshold of 281,745. [FULL STORY]