Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the KMT, says the government’s plans for absentee voting in referendums purposefully exclude overseas business owners. That comes after the Cabinet approved a draft bill on Thursday that would allow voters to cast their ballot outside their constituencies.
The bill does not apply to overseas voters, however. Right now, absentee voting is not allowed in Taiwan, and Taiwanese voters have to return to their hometowns in order to cast their ballot.
The KMT says the government is intentionally excluding overseas Taiwanese in countries such as China for political reasons. Overseas businesspeople are traditionally seen as one of the KMT’s key voting blocs.
Premier Su Tseng-chang says the bill is designed to minimize the risk of fraudulent voting in non-democratic countries. He says that it would be difficult to trust results coming from closed-off countries such as China, for example. Su also says it would be difficult to trust that all overseas Taiwanese were given an equal opportunity to exercise their democratic right.
Central Election Commission Chairperson Lee Chin-yung says there will still be a lot of work left to do if and when the bill passes Taiwan’s legislature. The bill also stipulates that voters can only register for an absentee ballot 60 days before a national referendum. That’s why Lee says it is unlikely authorities will be able to offer absentee voting in time for the next national referendum on December 18.