The “constitutional window” has sparked heated debate, while the justification for a coalition Cabinet in the post-election period has also been vigorously disputed.
The Central Election Commission, which is the cause of all the problems, remains silent, almost letting the public forget that it is the key to the constitutional farce, the remit of which requires serious scrutiny.
The nation discussed holding the presidential and legislative elections on the same day in 2007. At that time, academics expressed doubts, saying the move would mean there would be a caretaker government in operation for up to four months. This was why the commission did not carry it out in 2008.
However, after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office, he forced the change through, making it a reality in 2012.
A press release by the commission on Feb. 12 last year clearly stated the reasons for the change. It said that:
First, combining the presidential and legislative elections meets the expectations of the majority of the public.
Second, it can reduce excessive waste of social resources, such as political mobilization.
Third, the stability and consistency of the electoral system should be maintained and this method had been carried out since 2012.
Fourth, combining elections can boost turnout rates.
The commission even said: “Whether the elections are held separately or not, there will always be a period of two to four months between election day and the presidential inauguration. This window does not affect the authority and the responsibilities vested by the Constitution on an incumbent president. Our country has practiced democracy for years, during which two government changeovers took place, and our nation continued to function as usual. Hence holding the elections on the same day does not affect the functioning of the Constitution.”
Whether this approach is the result of political calculation, since combining the elections is the direction that the Ma administration wants to go, he should not evade the responsibility of resolving problems that arise in the aftermath of the election.
Whether the idea of a coalition Cabinet was proposed before or after the elections, it only makes matters worse. If what is important is a functional constitutional system, the priority should be to restore constitutional order.
The Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) stipulates that a legislative election should be held 10 days before the incumbent legislative term ends, while the presidential elections should be held 30 days before the incumbent presidency ends.
It is questionable whether the commission has the right to move the elections four months forward from when the president is to step down. Hence, while the simplest way is to restrict the commission’s authority to schedule the election days, the constitutional system has to be fully reviewed to address the root of the issue.
However, that is another major problem entirely.
Steve Wang is an assistant professor in the Institute of European Studies at Nanhua University.
Translated by Ethan Zhan
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