CEC: Electronic Petition System for Referendums Handled 4 Cases, Used by Over 400,000 People
Responding to criticism that its electronic petition system for referendums had been dormant for eight years, Taiwan's Central Election Commission (CEC) clarified that the system became operational in 2024, processed four national referendum proposals in 2025, and was used by over 400,000 people.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 22:33
- 🔍 Collected: May 7, 2026 at 23:02 (28 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 8, 2026 at 02:42 (3h 40m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Kao Hua-chien, Taipei, 7th) Media reported that KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei questioned why the CEC's electronic petition system for referendums had not been operational for eight years since its establishment. The CEC clarified that the national referendum electronic petition system went online in 2024 (ROC year 113), handled four national referendum proposals in 2025 (ROC year 114), and was estimated to have been used by over 400,000 people to complete petitions, indicating the system is operating well.
Media reported that KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei questioned that the CEC's electronic petition system for referendums, established in 2018 (ROC year 107), had not been operational for eight years despite annual budget allocations for maintenance, lacking even basic search functionality. In contrast, the Taipei City Government also has an electronic system for citizen referendum proposals and petitions, which clearly displays the number of cases and proposal content.
The CEC responded via a press release, stating that in 2025 (ROC year 114), the CEC accepted four national referendum proposals, including abolishing the threshold for constitutional litigation law, abolishing the requirement to attach ID copies for recall proposals, abolishing the requirement to attach ID copies for recall petitions, and abolishing additional fines for forging recall petitions, all of which entered the petition collection phase. According to the initiators' self-published petition data, the total number of people who participated in electronic petitions for the four cases exceeded 400,000. However, since the petition threshold was not met, the list of petitioners was not submitted to the CEC.
The CEC pointed out that to allow the public and initiators to understand the status of national referendum proposals and petitions, it has established a national referendum special zone on its global information website (https://web.cec.gov.tw/referendum). This includes introductions to the national referendum electronic petition system, operating instructions, referendum introductions, regulations, status of proposals and petitions, voting results, public hearings, opinion presentation meetings, and referendum gazettes.
The CEC stated that the Taipei City electronic system for citizen referendum proposals and petitions operates according to the Taipei City Referendum Self-Governance Ordinance and its related operational procedures. To date, no proposals have entered the petition collection phase in that system, and it is limited to Taipei citizens, differing in scope from the national referendum electronic petition system, which is available to all citizens.
The CEC pointed out that since the amendment of the Referendum Act in 2018 (ROC year 107), which provided the legal basis for the CEC to establish a national referendum electronic petition system, the CEC has actively carried out various tasks such as system establishment, cybersecurity testing, stability testing, operation and maintenance, and cloud data center rental to fulfill its legal obligations, ensuring no waste of public funds. (Edited by: Lin Ken-lun) 1150507
(Central News Agency reporter Kao Hua-chien, Taipei, 7th) Media reported that KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei questioned why the CEC's electronic petition system for referendums had not been operational for eight years since its establishment. The CEC clarified that the national referendum electronic petition system went online in 2024 (ROC year 113), handled four national referendum proposals in 2025 (ROC year 114), and was estimated to have been used by over 400,000 people to complete petitions, indicating the system is operating well.
Media reported that KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei questioned that the CEC's electronic petition system for referendums, established in 2018 (ROC year 107), had not been operational for eight years despite annual budget allocations for maintenance, lacking even basic search functionality. In contrast, the Taipei City Government also has an electronic system for citizen referendum proposals and petitions, which clearly displays the number of cases and proposal content.
The CEC responded via a press release, stating that in 2025 (ROC year 114), the CEC accepted four national referendum proposals, including abolishing the threshold for constitutional litigation law, abolishing the requirement to attach ID copies for recall proposals, abolishing the requirement to attach ID copies for recall petitions, and abolishing additional fines for forging recall petitions, all of which entered the petition collection phase. According to the initiators' self-published petition data, the total number of people who participated in electronic petitions for the four cases exceeded 400,000. However, since the petition threshold was not met, the list of petitioners was not submitted to the CEC.
The CEC pointed out that to allow the public and initiators to understand the status of national referendum proposals and petitions, it has established a national referendum special zone on its global information website (https://web.cec.gov.tw/referendum). This includes introductions to the national referendum electronic petition system, operating instructions, referendum introductions, regulations, status of proposals and petitions, voting results, public hearings, opinion presentation meetings, and referendum gazettes.
The CEC stated that the Taipei City electronic system for citizen referendum proposals and petitions operates according to the Taipei City Referendum Self-Governance Ordinance and its related operational procedures. To date, no proposals have entered the petition collection phase in that system, and it is limited to Taipei citizens, differing in scope from the national referendum electronic petition system, which is available to all citizens.
The CEC pointed out that since the amendment of the Referendum Act in 2018 (ROC year 107), which provided the legal basis for the CEC to establish a national referendum electronic petition system, the CEC has actively carried out various tasks such as system establishment, cybersecurity testing, stability testing, operation and maintenance, and cloud data center rental to fulfill its legal obligations, ensuring no waste of public funds. (Edited by: Lin Ken-lun) 1150507