The legislature’s Internal Administration Committee yesterday finished reviewing proposed amendments to the Civil Servants Election And Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) that would prohibit an elected official from resigning and then registering as a by-election candidate if their election is officially questioned.
The existing law stipulates that an official whose election is “ruled [by a court] … to be an invalid,” he or she cannot apply for registration as a candidate in the resulting by-election.
The law also states that if an elected official’s election is ruled by a court to be invalid, then the vacancy shall be filled by the candidate from the previous election who received the second-highest number of votes.
Photo: Tsai Wen-chu, Taipei Times
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said that an elected representative could quit before a court ruling and run in a by-election for the same post, thereby precluding the possibility of the vacancy being filled by the runner-up.
Central Election Commission Chairman Liu I-chou (劉義周) cited the examples of Chen Lung-chin (陳隆進), head of Pingtung County’s Liouciou Township (琉球), and Lee Chun-feng (李春風), head of Hualien’s Sioulin Township (秀林), who both quit while courts were reviewing their cases and were then re-elected in by-elections.
The amendments that were reviewed state that elected representatives would be prohibited from registering as a candidate in a by-election if they quit on their own and that the vacancy left by a local elected representative whose election was ruled invalid or who quit of their own accord while a court is reviewing their case should be filled by the candidate with the second-highest number of votes in the last election, not by a by-election.
Cross-caucus negotiations are still required before the amendments can be placed on the legislative agenda for a floor vote.
The committee also reviewed an amendment to Article 123 of the act that would require an elected representative whose election has been ruled invalid to return their salary and other special fees to the government, excluding any pay they received for their assistants.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) said the amendments were “targeting Lee” and the DPP appeared to suffer from “Lee syndrome,” referring to Tainan Council Speaker Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教).
Lee was found guilty of vote-buying in the first hearing by Tainan District Court and is reportedly considering resigning before a final ruling so he can run in the by-election.
Additional reporting by CNA
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