In a rare moment of cross-party cooperation, legislators across party lines yesterday lashed out at the chairman of the Central Election Committee (CEC) after he weighed in on when a new legislative redistricting plan should take effect.
CEC Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) said that if a no-confidence vote toppled the Cabinet and the president then decided to dissolve the legislature and hold snap elections, new legislative districts drawn up by the CEC should be used in that election -- even if the plan had not received legislative approval.
"If the redistricting plan for the [next] legislative election fails to pass during the current legislative term, the next legislative election should be conducted in accordance with the plan the CEC drafted," Chang said yesterday when briefing legislators on the plan.
Under constitutional amendments passed last June, the number of legislative seats will be halved to 113 from the current 225 seats, and a "single member, two vote" district electoral system will be implemented to replace multiple-member districts.
At least half of the legislature will lose their seats under the new system, and lawmakers from small parties are considered especially vulnerable.
Lawmakers demanded that the CEC file a request for a constitutional interpretation about the matter.
The CEC-drafted redistricting plan for the next legislative election was put onto the special session's agenda in light of the pan-blue camp's plan to hold a no-confidence vote in the premier in the next legislative session, if the president does not resign before then. The next session begins on Sept. 19.
In accordance with the Constitution, the president can choose to dissolve the legislature if a no-confidence vote ousts the premier.
Chang said the election would have to be conducted under a new format in keeping with the constitutional amendments passed by the now-defunct National Assembly last June.
But legislators who favor the current system disagreed with Chang.
"Before the new [redistricting] system is enacted [by the legislature], surely the current system should remain effective," People First Party (PFP) Legislator Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國) said.
The plan yesterday passed its preliminary review in the legislature's Home and Nations Committee, which concluded that the CEC must file a request for a constitutional interpretation on the dispute.
"The committee decided that the CEC has no authority to decide whether a new system or the current system should be used [in the event of snap elections]. The CEC must form a special task force to deal with possible scenarios in the aftermath of the Cabinet's dissolution," said PFP Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday established a friendship group with their counterparts in Ukraine to promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries. A ceremony in Taipei for the Taiwan-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Association, initiated by DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), was attended by lawmakers and officials, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) and European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Lutz Gullner. The increasingly dire situation in Ukraine is a global concern, and Taiwan cannot turn its back when the latter is in need of help, as the two countries share many common values and interests,
RSS