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2020 Kaohsiung mayoral recall vote

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The 2020 Kaohsiung mayoral recall vote was a recall election held on 6 June 2020 to recall the incumbent mayor of Kaohsiung, Han Kuo-yu. The recall was successful, as the number of agree votes (939,090) outnumbered disagree votes and exceeded the minimum requirement of 574,996. An acting mayor was appointed by the Executive Yuan and held office until 24 August 2020, nine days after a by-election was held.

2020 Kaohsiung mayoral recall vote
6 June 2020
Popular vote on recalling incumbent mayor of Kaohsiung, Han Kuo-yu
Voting systemMayor is recalled if votes for the recall outnumber those against and exceed one quarter of eligible voters (574,996)
OutcomeAdopted
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 939,090 97.40%
No 25,051 2.60%
Valid votes 964,141 99.47%
Invalid or blank votes 5,118 0.53%
Total votes 969,259 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 2,299,981 42.14%
  Agree votes below 25%, diff > 9,700
  Agree votes below 25%, diff > 2,400
  Agree votes below 25%, diff < 2,400
  Agree votes above 25%, diff < 2,400
  Agree votes above 25%, diff > 2,400
  Agree votes above 25%, diff > 9,700

The vote is the largest-scale recall vote in Taiwan in terms of electorate, and is the first ever successful recall of a mayor or magistrate.[1]

Background

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Han Kuo-yu was elected mayor of Kaohsiung City in the 24 November 2018 local election. However, his popularity quickly dwindled after he began campaigning for the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election, leading to a recall proposal on 26 December 2019.[2] On 17 January 2020, a petition to recall Han cleared the first threshold with 28,560 signatures, exceeding the required 1% of the electorate (22,814 signatures).[3] On 7 April, the city's electoral commission verified that 377,662 of approximately 406,000 signatures collected in the second phase of the recall petition were valid, clearing the threshold of 10% of the electorate.[4][5] The Central Election Commission certified the validity of collected signatures on 17 April, and scheduled a recall vote on 6 June 2020.[6]

Han contested the legality of the recall in court, claiming that petitioners had been collecting signatures before he had served a full year as mayor, in violation of Article 75 of the Civil Servants and Election and Recall Act. The motion was denied by the Taipei Administrative High Court on 17 April 2020.[7] An appeal to the Taiwan Supreme Administrative Court was rejected on 7 May 2020.[8] Han claimed that the recall vote would damage his reputation, interfere with his mayoral duties, burden other city officials, and delay municipal work programs. The Taipei High Administrative Court ruled against these arguments on 22 May.[9]

Voting system

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Residents of Kaohsiung City registered in the city continuously since 6 February 2020 and aged 20 or above on the day prior to the vote are eligible. The mayor is recalled if votes in favour of the recall outnumber those against and exceed one quarter of voters in the original electoral district (574,996).[10][11][12]

Procedures and timetable

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The Central Election Commission stated on 2 May 2020 that the 1,823 polling sites used in the 2018 mayoral election would be set up for the recall vote.[13] The CEC released a statement by Han on 5 May, in which he emphasised the economic investment drawn to Kaohsiung during his mayoral administration.[14] Polls were open from 08:00 to 16:00 on 6 June.[15]

Opinion polling

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Date Pollster Sample size % turn out[a] % turn out and vote agree % in favour of recall % against recall % other
2020-06-06 Result 2,299,981 42.1 40.8 — — —
2020-05-24 INA News 1,080 45.5 41.9 57.3 30.0 12.7
2020-05-23 Apple Daily 1,079 39.0 36.0 50.1 22.0 27.9
2020-05-20 TVBS 1,237 39.0 34.3 45.0 — —
2020-05-21 TPOF 1,085 47.9 35.0 56.3 28.2 11.2
2020-05-19 New Power Party 830 46.4 35.6 56.4 28.9 14.7
2020-05-19 Statebuilding Party 1,072 34.5 31.9 54.4 26.5 19.0
2020-05-08 Apple Daily 1,082 50.2 37.3 65.0 20.4 14.6
2020-05-05 INA News 1,090 47.5 36.0 55.1 32.0 12.9
2020-04-20 New Power Party 805 43.6 33.0 52.1 35.2 12.7
2020-03-20 Taiwan Brain Trust 1,087 51.2 39.5 59.5 34.5 6.0
2020-02-07 TVBS 1,213 44.0 34.8 53.0 32.0 16.0
2020-01-16 ETtoday 1,768 — — 63.4 33.2 3.4
2020-01-14 TVBS 1,030 — — 53.0 32.0 15.0
2020-01-14 TISR 1,072 65.1 58.2 58.5 29.8 11.7

Results

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Leaders of the recall initiative speaking to supporters after results are confirmed; left to right: Chang Po-yang, Aaron Yin, Chen Kuan-jung, Lee Yi-chieh

The motion to recall Han garnered 939,090 votes favouring recall and 25,051 votes against recall. Agree votes accounted for 40.83% of eligible voters, exceeding the 25% minimum electoral threshold to pass it.[16][17] Han conceded the vote shortly after polls closed.[18][19] Kuomintang chairman Johnny Chiang stated that he accepted the outcome of the recall vote, and apologized to city residents for the party's shortcomings. The New Power Party said that the recall vote was a "victory for Taiwan’s democracy." The Taiwan People's Party commented that "the recall process — from the petition to the outcome of the vote — has written a new page in the history of the autonomy of regional politics in Taiwan."[20] Approximately five hundred supporters of Han from around Taiwan gathered in Taipei on 13 June to protest his recall and the policies of the Tsai Ing-wen presidential administration.[21][22]

Former counselor to the Kaohsiung City Government Yang Ming-jou was appointed interim mayor on 13 June by the Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan, Li Meng-yen.[23] A by-election for a new full-term mayor was held on 15 August, which was won by Chen Chi-mai.[24]

2020 Kaohsiung mayoral recall[25]
Count % % electorate
Electorate 2,299,981 100.00
Threshold 574,996 25.00
Agree votes 939,090 97.40 40.83
Disagree votes 25,051 2.60 1.09
Valid votes 964,141 99.47 41.92
Invalid votes 5,118 0.53 0.22
Total votes 969,259 100.00 42.14
Outcome Adopted
2020 Kaohsiung mayoral recall vote district breakdown[26]
District Electorate Agree votes % electorate Diff from 25% electorate Disagree votes Diff from agree votes % valid votes Valid votes Invalid votes Total votes Turnout (%)
Yancheng 21,094 9,107 43.17 +3,833 221 -8,886 2.37 9,328 57 9,385 44.49
Gushan 113,422 44,512 39.24 +16,156 1,008 -43,504 2.21 45,520 190 45,710 40.30
Zuoying 158,116 57,508 36.37 +17,979 1,416 -56,092 2.40 58,924 271 59,195 37.44
Nanzih 151,524 61,389 40.51 +23,508 1,623 -59,766 2.58 63,012 283 63,295 41.77
Sanmin 281,281 120,311 42.77 +49,990 2,889 -117,422 2.34 123,200 567 123,767 44.00
Sinsing 43,397 17,452 40.21 +6,603 443 -17,009 2.48 17,895 96 17,991 41.46
Cianjin 23,704 9,437 39.81 +3,511 252 -9,185 2.60 9,689 47 9,736 41.07
Lingya 142,733 57,069 39.98 +21,386 1,421 -55,648 2.43 58,490 295 58,785 41.19
Cianjhen 157,294 66,816 42.48 +27,492 1,779 -65,037 2.59 68,595 347 68,942 43.83
Cijin 23,954 10,658 44.49 +4,669 295 -10,363 2.69 10,953 58 11,011 45.97
Siaogang 129,597 55,361 42.72 +22,962 1,415 -53,946 2.49 56,776 259 57,035 44.01
Fongshan 294,083 117,795 40.06 +44,274 3,062 -114,733 2.53 120,857 617 121,474 41.31
Linyuan 57,617 25,028 43.44 +10,624 684 -24,344 2.66 25,712 194 25,906 44.96
Daliao 94,987 39,474 41.56 +15,727 1,029 -38,445 2.54 40,503 222 40,725 42.87
Dashu 35,719 15,318 42.88 +6,388 389 -14,929 2.48 15,707 89 15,796 44.22
Dashe 29,282 13,320 45.49 +5,999 363 -12,957 2.65 13,683 89 13,772 47.03
Renwu 73,973 32,787 44.32 +14,294 886 -31,901 2.63 33,673 168 33,841 45.75
Niaosong 38,963 16,662 42.76 +6,921 412 -16,250 2.41 17,074 91 17,165 44.05
Gangshan 79,113 32,084 40.55 +12,306 895 -31,189 2.71 32,979 190 33,169 41.93
Ciaotou 32,578 16,254 49.89 +8,109 507 -15,747 3.02 16,761 95 16,856 51.74
Yanchao 25,354 10,618 41.88 +4,279 306 -10,312 2.80 10,924 91 11,015 43.44
Tianliao 6,425 2,552 39.72 +946 92 -2,460 3.48 2,644 21 2,665 41.48
Alian 23,841 10,559 44.29 +4,599 281 -10,278 2.60 10,840 70 10,910 45.76
Lujhu 42,432 18,054 42.55 +7,446 568 -17,486 3.05 18,622 111 18,733 44.15
Hunei 25,097 10,929 43.55 +4,655 369 -10,560 3.27 11,298 75 11,373 45.32
Qieding 25,515 10,600 41.54 +4,221 315 -10,285 2.89 10,915 59 10,974 43.01
Yong'an 11,699 4,914 42.00 +1,989 122 -4,792 2.42 5,036 23 5,059 43.24
Mituo 15,918 6,173 38.78 +2,193 193 -5,980 3.03 6,366 48 6,414 40.29
Zihguan 30,272 14,032 46.35 +6,464 404 -13,628 2.80 14,436 87 14,523 47.98
Cishan 30,807 11,399 37.00 +3,697 474 -10,925 3.99 11,873 78 11,951 38.79
Meinong 34,112 9,749 28.58 +1,221 420 -9,329 4.13 10,169 88 10,257 30.07
Liouguei 10,903 2,880 26.41 +154 164 -2,716 5.39 3,044 40 3,084 28.29
Jiasian 5,224 1,223 23.41 -83 56 -1,167 4.38 1,279 16 1,295 24.79
Shanlin 10,238 2,733 26.69 +173 121 -2,612 4.24 2,854 28 2,882 28.15
Neimen 12,517 3,863 30.86 +734 145 -3,718 3.61 4,008 56 4,064 32.47
Maolin 1,520 60 3.95 -320 1 -59 1.64 61 0 61 4.01
Taoyuan 3,342 201 6.01 -635 24 -177 10.67 225 2 227 6.79
Namasia 2,334 209 8.95 -375 7 -202 3.24 216 0 216 9.25

Notes

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  1. ^ Responses indicating "likely turnout" are not included

References

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  1. ^ Wei, Katherine (5 June 2020). "Kaohsiung to vote on recall motion against mayor Han Kuo-yu". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. ^ "The Rise and Rapid Fall of Han Kuo-yu". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Petition to recall Han passes first hurdle: CEC". Taipei Times. 19 January 2020. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  4. ^ Wang, Shwu-fen; Liu, Kuang-ting; Yeh, Joseph (7 April 2020). "Petition to recall Han passes second stage, vote likely in June". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  5. ^ Shih, Hsiao-kuang (20 February 2020). "Signatures for petition to recall Han pass 450,000". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  6. ^ Pan, Jason (18 April 2020). "Han recall vote set for June 6". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  7. ^ Yu, Matt; Mazzetta, Matthew (17 April 2020). "Motion to halt Han recall petition dismissed; Han vows appeal". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  8. ^ Liu, Shih-yi; Kao, Evelyn (7 January 2020). "Han's appeal to halt Kaohsiung mayoral recall rejected". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  9. ^ Pan, Jason (23 May 2020). "Court rejects Han's attempt to halt vote". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  10. ^ Wang, Shwu-fen; Hsu, Elizabeth (17 April 2020). "Recall vote on Kaohsiung mayor to be held in June". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  11. ^ Liu, Kay (31 May 2020). "Kaohsiung mayor first special municipality chief to face recall vote". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Explainer: June 6 vote to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu". Central News Agency. 5 June 2020. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  13. ^ Ko, Yu-hao (3 May 2020). "CEC reaches deal for Han recall vote". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  14. ^ Wen, Juei-hsiang; Ku, Chuan; Huang, Frances (5 May 2020). "Kaohsiung mayor defends himself against recall vote". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  15. ^ Ko, Lin (6 June 2020). "Kaohsiung voters head to polls for mayoral recall". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  16. ^ Mazzetta, Matthew (6 June 2020). "Han Kuo-yu becomes first mayor in Taiwan to be recalled (update)". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  17. ^ Mazzetta, Matthew (6 June 2020). "Official count shows Han recall vote has passed threshold". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  18. ^ Lee, Hsin-Yin (6 June 2020). "Han concedes defeat in recall election, blasts DPP's 'national team' effort". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  19. ^ Huang, Hsin-po; Hung, Chen-hung; Hsu, Li-chuan; Chung, Jake (7 June 2020). "Kaohsiung voters recall Han Kuo-yu". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  20. ^ Huang, Chia-lin; Wu, Su-wei; Hetherington, William (7 June 2020). "Executive Yuan to appoint acting mayor next week". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  21. ^ Chater, James (17 June 2020). "Sense of loss voiced at protest". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  22. ^ Liu, Chien-pang; Mazetta, Matthew (13 June 2020). "Protesters defy Han to rally against Kaohsiung recall vote". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  23. ^ 陳朝福 (13 June 2020). "楊明州代理高雄市長 行政院秘書長李孟諺監交" (in Chinese). Taiwan. Central News Agency. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  24. ^ 曾珮瑛; 吳慧芬; 林錫淵 (25 August 2020). "陳其邁就職花62萬 300人觀禮". 蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Taiwan. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  25. ^ "高雄市第3屆市長韓國瑜罷免案投票結果". Central Election Commission (in Chinese). Taiwan. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  26. ^ "高雄市選舉委員會:::高雄市第3屆市長韓國瑜罷免案各行政區投開票結果:::". 高雄市選舉委員會 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
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