The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are aligned on the lowering of the electoral threshold for small parties to secure representation in the legislature, but the KMT yesterday voiced concern that small parties could, under current rules, obstruct legislative proceedings.
The legislative electoral system, electoral threshold and the legislature’s power to approve the premiership were among the topics discussed yesterday at a meeting of the legislature’s Constitutional Amendment Committee.
The nation’s two major parties were at loggerheads over the legislature’s power to approve the premiership and the question of which voting system best substantializes the principle of “one vote, one value.”
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said the emphasis was on “the constitutional amendments proposed at this time.”
While the chance of changing the form of government from a quasi-presidential system to a parliamentary system remains remote, the KMT would like to have the legislature’s power to approve the premiership be put to a referendum next year in response to a public call for a system that sees the president’s power checked, Lai said.
However, DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said the main problem facing the legislature is that the principle of “one vote, one value” has not been respected.
The DPP caucus has called for the lowering of the electoral threshold from 5 percent to 3 percent of total votes obtained by a party, which is the consensus among the legislative caucuses and should not be tied to other disputed issues raised by the KMT, such the power to approve the premiership and absentee voting, Lee said.
Otherwise, the constitutional amendment process could be stalled, he said.
Under the current legislative electoral system, a mixed-member majoritarian (MMM) system has violated the principle of “one vote, one value,” Lee said.
“Take the 2008 legislative election for example. The MMM system gave the KMT a total of 81 seats and the DPP 27 seats, while a mixed-member proportional [MMP] system would have resulted in the KMT securing 58 seats and the DPP 42, which would have been more in line with the number of votes they each received,” the lawmaker said.
KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) backed a lower threshold, but favored a continuation of the MMM. While Germany has a MMM system, it has kept the electoral threshold at 5 percent, she said.
“With too many small parties in the legislature, there is the risk of legislative inefficiency, as we witnessed a few weeks ago, when the two major parties reached a consensus, but were unable to continue due to a boycott carried out by a smaller party’s caucus,” Wang said.
She was referring to the Taiwan Solidarity Union’s obstruction of a review of bills for establishing an oversight mechanism for cross-strait agreements.
KMT Legislator Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said the Constitution could be amended in a way that respects small parties, “but the regulations governing legislative procedures should also be revised.”
While yesterday’s committee meeting was not scheduled to discuss absentee voting because it was discussed last week, Lai raised the issue again.
The KMT lawmaker spoke in favor of his caucus’ proposal that the voting age be lowered and absentee voting be permitted.
He cited a sit-in by National Chung Cheng University students against the university’s scheduling the final day of exams next year one day before the presidential and legislative elections in January.
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