After the extraordinary legislative session passed the constitutional amendment cutting the number of legislative seats by half and introducing a one-member district, two-ballot electoral system, the three-quarters majority required for such amendments suddenly doesn't seem so distant and unattainable. And the theoretical blueprint has now been turned into a substantive text.
This increase in confidence is being followed by a debate about the next stage of the constitutional amendment process. Public attention will likely focus on whether to adopt a Cabinet, presidential or semi-presidential system.
We many not agree with the number 113 for the legislative seats remaining after an amendment, and some may dislike the speed with which the amendment process has progressed and the lack of attention given to it. But it is precisely this public dissatisfaction with the legislature that has led to the accompanying moral pressure from former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin I-hsiung (
The constitution deals mainly with regulating the power struggle between political elites. But issues of political participation and influence are more directly and concretely relevant to the public. Because the force behind the constitutional amendments comes from public dissatisfaction with the performance of democratic politics, and not from a positive consensus on the type of system between the government and opposition elites, the public image of these reforms will be shaped by the significance placed on public electoral participation.
The argument over the central government system will not be resolved by letting the public make an uninformed choice between a Cabinet, presidential and semi-presidential system. Nor will it be resolved by drawing up a triangle describing the relationship between premier, president and legislature, because a majority of the public cannot grasp the different aspects of these systemic concepts.
The reason for this is that the design of the Constitution confuses the public. There is confusion on whether presidential or legislative elections are more significant, what the importance of voting and participation are and which political posts can be replaced through elections.
After the end of every presidential election, opposition parties declare that as long as they win an absolute majority in the legislative elections, they will form a new Cabinet. This confuses the public, making them wonder which election decides where Taiwan's political power lies. If it isn't decided in the presidential election, then it should be decided in the legislative elections, shouldn't it? Will motives in voting in legislative elections be the same as those when voting in presidential elections? These questions and the question of the value of public participation in politics must be answered by experts and scholars during the next constitutional reform stage.
If voters don't understand the results of the election outcome, that is only the beginning of the manipulation of the system of constitutional politics. When the significance of a vote can be interpreted to one's own preference -- whether it is exaggerated or diminished -- it puts democracy at risk. Maybe the honest resolution of these public doubts would be a good point of departure for constitutional reform.
Hsu Yung-ming is an assistant research fellow at the Sun Yat-sen Institute for Social Sciences and Philosophy at the Academia Sinica.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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