The Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday announced its final decision to combine the presidential and legislative elections next year, to save money and increase voter turnout.
“CEC members decided during a meeting today that the 14th presidential and the 9th legislative elections [next year] shall be held on the same day,” CEC Chairman Liu I-chou (劉義周) told a press conference after the meeting. “As for the date of the elections, the CEC will call a meeting with local election commissions to decide.”
Although a date has not been set, the elections are likely to be held in January next year, before the start of a new legislative session the following month.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Liu said that according to three public hearings and an opinion poll, most people support combining the elections.
“Holding the two elections on the same day can help save money and social resources by avoiding repeated large-scale political mobilizations within a short time,” he said. “Moreover, compared with the 2008 presidential and legislative elections — which were held separately — the number of voters in the 2012 combined elections rose by about 3.3 million.”
Liu said the decision was also made to ensure policy continuity, since the 2012 presidential and legislative elections were held on the same day, as were last year’s nine-in-one elections.
Liu said concerns raised by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) over the large gap between the elections in January and the presidential inauguration on May 20 would not be a problem.
“The nation has its own laws and systems to deal with the issue,” Liu said. “Besides, there would also be an empty period if the presidential election is postponed.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) welcomed the decision, saying that combined elections might save the nation up to NT$500 million (US$15 million).
Meanwhile, DPP spokesperson Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) urged the commission to draft laws and regulations to institutionalize combined legislative and presidential elections to avoid more debates on the issue.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said he respected the commission’s decision, adding that he did not think the change would make much difference to the party.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS