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Amendment puts small parties at risk

Members of the Third Social Party and other groups attach fake money to the gate at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday to protest amendments to the Election and Recall Law of Civil Servants. Protesters said the amendment would create another ``permanent legislature'' consisting of legislators from the Democratic Progressive Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). PHOTO: CNA

A proposed amendment to the Election and Recall Law of Civil Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法) passed a second reading in the legislature yesterday, with tighter rules governing the nomination of legislators-at-large that may prove disadvantageous to smaller political parties in January's legislative poll.

Article 24 of the proposed amendment stipulates that only political parties that have won more than 2 percent of the valid votes in the last presidential race or more than 2 percent of the votes in the last three legislator-at-large elections can nominate candidates for legislators-at-large.

Political parties that currently hold more than five legislative seats or plan to nominate more than 10 district and Aboriginal legislators are also entitled to nominate legislators-at-large, the article said.

If the proposed amendment passes a third reading, it may be difficult for small or newly established parties, such as the Third Society Party or the Taiwan Farmers Party, to join January's poll, as these parties are likely planning to nominate legislators-at-large only with the adoption of "single-member district, two-vote system".

Earlier yesterday, 15 representatives of 16 civic groups staged a protest outside the legislature, urging the bigger parties to make room to help the smaller parties survive.

Calling the proposed amendment "an unreasonable threshold for smaller parties," Green Party Taiwan Secretary-General Pan Han-sen (潘翰聲) said raising the threshold would only turn the legislature into an organization "monopolized" by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Former DPP member Jou Yi-cheng (周奕成), founder of the Third Society Party, said that the sudden change in nomination rules had left the public without a clue as to how to participate in the legislative poll.

The proposed amendments also included an article stipulating that a legislative, mayoral or commissioner election should be suspended if any registered candidate dies before the voting date.

Another article proposes banning public or non-profit radio or TV stations from airing campaign advertisements.

An article proposed by the pan-blue camp concerning vote-buying investigations, however, was reserved for further cross-party negotiation.

The pan-blue camp proposed that prosecutors should not initiate vote-buying investigations until the Central Election Commission has made a formal announcement of an election.

Another clause seeking to impose tougher punishments -- three to 10 years' imprisonment and NT$1 million (US$30,700) to NT$10 million in fines -- for candidates convicted of vote-buying was also reserved for negotiation.
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