Features

Central Election Commission reclassifies electoral districts

• Publication Date：02/09/2007
• By  June Tsai

ROC Central Election Commission unveiled Jan. 31 the new redistricting scheme for all cities and counties in Taiwan for the year-end legislative elections. The results of the changes to electoral districts would have a profound effect on the nation's political landscape, the Chinese-language Liberty Times newspaper reported Feb. 1.

As a result of the scheme, 73 electoral districts have been created out of all 25 cities and counties. The redistricting proposal for 22 districts in 15 cities and counties was made by the CEC and approved by the Legislative Yuan. The remaining 51 districts in 10 cities and counties were decided after negotiation between heads of the Legislative and Executive yuans.

The CEC barely met the deadline to finalize the redistricting after disputes over contentious cities and counties were settled through discussions between Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng and Premier Su Tseng-chang, a procedure required by the Public Officials Election and Recall Act.

One day before the Jan. 31 deadline to promulgate the change, there were still eight cities and counties left undecided due to the high stakes political parties had placed on the demarcation. Wang noted that, since the negotiations began on Jan. 24, both he and Su had been overwhelmed by phone calls from incumbent lawmakers who were concerned about the outcome of their talks, the semi-official Central News Agency reported Jan. 31.

The Legislative Yuan, CEC and various political parties all submitted different plans for redistricting. Since Wang and Su could not reach a compromise over key districts, they decided to draw lots and let chance determine which proposal would be adopted.

This raised eyebrows, but both Wang and Su expressed optimism that all parties concerned would understand. "The redrawing of electoral districts is crucial to each party and candidate," Su said, adding that the redistricting process was so grueling that lot drawing had to be adopted. Su said he hoped that even if all parties were "not satisfied with the result, they can at least accept it and then make their best efforts for the year-end elections," according to a Feb. 1 CNA report.

The redistricting was made in conjunction with a new election system to be adopted at the next legislative elections, slated to take place in December 2007, as required in a June 2005 amendment to Article 4 of the ROC Constitution. The amendment states that the Legislative Yuan should have 113 members, reduced from the current number of 225.

The amendment also created a new voting system, known as the "single constituency, two-ballot" system to replace the "single-vote, multiple-member district" voting system long practiced in Taiwan. The new voting system will allow each voter to cast two ballots, one for a candidate and one for a political party. The first ballot will choose the candidates for 73 legislative seats, with the other 34 seats decided by the proportion of votes cast for specific political parties. The six remaining seats are reserved for aboriginal legislators, elected by their respective constituencies.

Under current districting, several legislators were elected for each large electoral district, representing a city or county. With the new districting, there will be one seat each in only 10 of the cities and counties, as well as all the outlying islands. In other cities and counties, the number of seats was reduced by half or one-third. With this significant reduction, the competition for available seats will be greatly intensified.

Local newspapers published analyses Feb. 1 of what could happen to incumbent legislators and to the distribution of political power among both pan-green and pan-blue camps.

The Liberty Times reported that the new scheme would further strengthen the present situation, in which the pan-green camp held on to southern Taiwan while the opposition pan-blue camp kept its high representation in northern and eastern Taiwan. Su said it was still too early to say who would benefit most from the redistricting scheme, stressing that efforts made by political parties and individuals in addressing the needs of their constituents would make the difference.

Only after the elections would the effects of the redistricting scheme and the new voting system become apparent in the political landscape, said Ku Chung-hwa, professor of sociology at National Chengchi University. The new system could better reflect the actual preference of each voter for individual candidates and political parties, Ku said.

"With the present electoral system, elections are like dogfights. The new system will allow voters to have more say, and their opinions will have greater significance for those who seek to represent them," he said. Ku, an advocate for parliamentary reform in Taiwan, led the founding of the Citizen Watch Alliance in January 2007, which he said would closely monitor the performance of local lawmakers and encourage people not to vote for legislators who had failed to serve in their constituents' best interests.

Ku said that legislators elected through the new system would be under the direct supervision of voters and be held to greater accountability, since there would be only one representative for each district.

He added that campaign maneuvers, such as vote buying, a recurrent problem in local and legislative elections, would no longer be considered a viable way to succeed.

Several local reports said the new system would strengthen green-blue bipartisanship and leave little room for small parties, referring to Taiwan Solidarity Union and People First Party. Ku differed, saying small parties would have a good chance to cultivate niches by proposing platforms that addressed people's concerns and by concentrating on the second ballot, that for specific political parties. According to the constitutional amendment, members of this ballot would be elected from lists of political parties. If a party obtained at least 5 percent of the total vote, it would possibly get a seat in the Legislature.

Write to June Tsai at June@mail.gio.gov.tw