The Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday decided to hold the next presidential and legislative elections together, a move likely to set a precedent in which there would be a four-month gap between the presidential election and the day the president and vice president take office.
Based on existing rules, the next presidential poll is scheduled for March next year, while the next legislative elections are likely to be held this December or in January next year. Until now, the legislative was usually inaugurated on Feb. 1, while the presidential inauguration has always taken place on May 20.
Following the decision reached after a three-hour discussion between CEC members, it is likely that the presidential election will be moved forward because the law requires that legislative elections be held before a new legislative session starts on Feb. 1.
Photo: Huang Chien-hua , Taipei Times
Central Election Commission Chairperson Chang Po-ya (張博雅) told a press conference yesterday evening that the decision was the result of a consensus reached by CEC members.
“No one [in the commission] was against the combined elections,” Chang said.
The decision was made to reduce social costs and political mobilization, and can save about NT$500 million for the election fund, she said.
Central Election Commission Vice Chairman Liu Yi-chou (劉義周) added that “there is no political consideration.”
“The commission is only in charge of election matters. Whether the Constitution needs be amended or not should be a problem solved by the Chinese Nationalist Pary (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), not the commission,” Liu said when asked whether the merged elections could cause a constitutional crisis, given the long gap between the presidential election and the presidential inauguration.
Democracy has been in place for such a long time now that there should be no need to worry about a window period, Chang said.
She said that both the Constitution and laws have explicitly stated regulations governing the implementation and exercise of governmental operation
“There isn’t a Constitutional window period issue,” Chang said.
She said the commission would next discuss the combined election date with the county election committees, and report it to the next meeting for further discussion.
Speculation that it may take place on Jan. 21 was false, because that was too close to the Lunar New Year, Chang said.
Lin Yi-shih (林益世), executive director of the KMT’s Policy Committee, yesterday welcomed the CEC decision.
The DPP, on the other hand, expressed opposition to the proposed changes, saying that while it supported “reasonable revisions,” the current proposal would skew the election results in favor of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
“The KMT is attempting to change the rules of the game before the presidential elections. The changes are tailor-made to help President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election bid,” DPP spokesperson Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said yesterday.
Lin said that any changes to the election date must take place through legislative revisions that would enshrine the combined elections in law, rather than arbitrarily having to tackle the issue every four years.
The party has also expressed concerns that the revision would cause an extended “lame duck” period of four months before the president-elect takes office, which by law must occur in May.
“President Ma will have to take responsibility if this results in any problems,” Lin said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO
BAIL APPEALS: The former vice premier was ordered to be held incommunicado despite twice being granted bail and paying a total of NT$12 million in bond The Taoyuan District Court yesterday ordered the detention of former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and that he be held incommunicado. The court made the ruling during a bail hearing after prosecutors appealed its bail ruling twice. Cheng on Saturday was released after posting bail of NT$5 million (US$153,818). However, after prosecutors lodged an appeal, the High Court on Monday revoked the original ruling and ordered the Taoyuan District Court to hold another bail hearing. On Tuesday, the district court granted bail to Cheng a second
The Thai government on Friday announced that Taiwanese would be allowed to stay in the country for up to 60 days per entry, under the Southeast Asian country’s visa-free program starting from today. Taiwan is among 93 countries included in the Thai visa-waiver program, which has been expanded from 57 countries, with the visa-exempt entry extended from 30 to 60 days. After taking office last year, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to grant more visa waivers to foreign travelers as part of efforts to stimulate tourism. The expanded visa-waiver program was on Friday signed by Thai Minister of the Interior Anutin
PEACE AND SECURITY: China’s military ambitions present ‘the greatest strategic challenge to Japan and the world, Japan’s annual defense white paper said yesterday Japan yesterday warned that China risked escalating tensions with Taiwan with an increase in military exercises that appeared aimed in part at readying Beijing’s forces for a possible invasion. Japan’s annual assessment of security threats, including those posed by China, North Korea and Russia, comes as Taiwan closely monitors Chinese People’s Liberation Army air and sea exercises, including one with the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. The drills are the latest in a series including maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait last year that a senior US general said would be key to any invasion. “Because of that increase in military activity,
HAN KUANG: The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers said The armed forces would for the first time test new rules of engagement (ROE) at this month’s annual Han Kuang exercises, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. The exercises, which are to run from July 22 to 26, will feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure, military officers told a news conference in Taipei. ROE cards would be issued to select combat troops to test their ability to function without tight control, they said. The most recent edition of the rules was published last year, they said. One of the cards’ two templates identifies enemy targets that soldiers