DPFP lawmaker Yasushi Adachi told an Upper House committee on Tuesday that holding the Osaka referendum on the same day as next spring's local elections would ignore a Diet resolution and restrict residents' right to campaign, ABEMA Times reported.
The referendum is being pushed by Ishin no Kai leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, who is also governor of Osaka. Adachi questioned him in the Upper House Committee on Internal Affairs and Communications on Tuesday.
Campaign rules and a Diet resolution
When a referendum coincides with a local election, strict Public Offices Election Act rules apply. Adachi said this would restrict referendum campaigning by specific political groups and damage the rights of residents.
He noted that the Diet has issued a supplementary resolution three times calling for the referendum and the election to be kept apart as far as possible. He said Yoshimura keeps saying he will hold the double election in defiance of the Diet resolution.
Adachi asked the internal affairs minister to state clearly that the government should do its utmost to keep the two dates from overlapping.
Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Hihayo Fujii said the law permits the two to be held on the same day. He said the government takes the supplementary resolution as something it should respect.
Remark on Yoshimura's legal career
Adachi also criticized Ishin for not honoring the supplementary resolution, since a provision banning the same-day vote was dropped from the bill. "Yoshimura is a lawyer, but maybe he just wasn't any good at the job," he said, according to ABEMA Times.
He then asked whether it is appropriate for a ruling party leader to aim for a situation in which residents' rights are restricted.
Fujii repeated that the government carries out laws passed by the legislature and will act in respect for the supplementary resolution. Adachi protested from his seat that the minister had not answered and asked the chairman to halt proceedings.
The stenographers in the committee room stopped taking the record for about 80 seconds.
When the record resumed, Fujii said the same-day vote would restrict referendum campaigning but also offer convenience for residents and save costs. He avoided saying which he considered preferable.
The specific date should be decided by the election commission after comprehensive consideration, including the supplementary resolution, he said.