2026 Taiwanese referendum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A national referendum is scheduled for 28 November 2026 in Taiwan, alongside local elections.
 | |
28 November 2026
| |
Do you agree that the government should adopt "nuclear power", which reinvigorates the economy, in order to abolish the energy policy of "Nuclear-Free Homeland"?[a] | |
| Voting system | The initiative is ratified if votes in favor exceed a quarter of eligible voters and the number of votes not in favor. |
|---|---|
Referendum proposals
In April 2026, Hung Mong-kai and six other Kuomintang members of the Legislative Yuan announced their caucus supported a referendum to legalize caning as punishment for major crimes including fraud, child abuse, and sexual assault.[2][3] A legislative vote on the proposal was held the following month.[4] The KMT also considered restoration of nuclear power and capital punishment as potential grounds for referendum. The Taiwan People's Party backed absentee voting for presidential and legislative elections, as well as national referendums, as referendum topics.[5] The newly seated chair of the Central Election Commission, Michael You, urged caution in the referendum proposal and approval process.[5][6][7] In June, the KMT turned its attention away from caning to focus on nuclear power[8][9] and capital punishment,[10] while the TPP put forward a proposed referendum on funding transportation subsidies through the collection of traffic fines[11] and absentee voting.[12] By July, the TPP drafted another referendum proposal on euthanasia.[13][14] That same month, KMT and TPP used their joint legislative majority to bypass committee review and advance referendum proposals on nuclear power and the legalization of medical euthanasia directly to a second reading.[15][16] The second reading on the caning proposal was passed only with KMT support.[17] Due to the number of referendum proposals under consideration leading to a possible six-question referendum alongside local elections, the KMT supported listing multiple referendum questions on a single ballot.[18][19] To this end, amendments to the Referendum Act provisions on balloting were proposed and advanced to a second legislative reading in late July.[20][21] CEC chair You opposed multiple-question referendum ballots.[22][23]
The Legislative Yuan voted to approve the referendum on caning, traffic fine usage, and nuclear power in August 2026, while the euthanasia proposal did not pass and the absentee voting proposal was not voted upon.[24][25] On 16 August 2026, prior to the approval of any referendum question by the Central Election Commission, the National Human Rights Commission cited the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in opposition to the judicial caning proposal.[26]
On 28 August 2026, the Central Election Commission approved the referendum question on nuclear power and rejected the questions about judicial caning and traffic fine revenue allocation.[27][28]