Wed, Dec 31, 2003 page1

• DPP agrees on plan to reduce seats

  REFORM The party is in agreement with the blue camp on reducing the number of legislative seats, but the rival camps are still at odds on other changes

  • By Chang Yun-ping / STAFF REPORTER
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  The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Central Standing Committee passed a resolution yesterday calling for the number of legislative seats to be cut from 225 to 113 and the creation of a single-member district, two-vote system.

  Under such a system, citizens cast two ballots -- one for the party and one for the individual.

  The party had originally proposed in July last year reducing the number of legislative seats to 150, but, under pressure from opposition parties and former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄), agreed to halve the number of seats.

  The party's original version of the legislative reform proposal called for abolishing overseas legislators, extending the term of lawmakers from three years to four and holding legislative elections at the same time as the presidential election.

  Campaign promise

  Lin has been pressing the ruling and opposition parties to realize their campaign promise in the 2001 legislative election to reduce the number of legislative seats by half. He visited DPP headquarters on Dec. 24 and has also met with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), reaching a consensus with the DPP and KMT on the issue.

  The two parties are in agreement on the number of seats to cut under the resolution passed yesterday, but they remain at odds over the single-member district, two-vote system.

  "Cutting the number of legislative seats is not the only problem with legislative reform as it alone can't improve the lawmakers' quality, strengthen party politics and reduce election corruption," DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) said yesterday

  "[Successful reform] depends on the single-member district, two-vote system for an overhaul of the electoral system and improved operation of the legislature," Chang said.

  The single-member district, two-vote system would see constituency boundaries redrawn and the implementation of proportional representation.

  blue-camp divisions

  Chang said the KMT and People First Party (PFP) support cutting the number of legislative seats out of election concerns, but their stance toward the single-member, two-vote system remained obscure due to conflicts of interest between the two parties.

  While the two parties are working as an alliance in the presidential election campaign, they will be fiercely competitive in the legislative election.

  "This means they don't realize the real problems of the legislature. They chose to support cutting the number of seats to 113, but they tried to avoid other essential reforms," Chang said.

  Chang yesterday urged the KMT and PFP to solve their internal differences to support the single-member district, two-vote system and complete the constitutional amendment by the end of the current legislative session on Jan. 13.

  Trade-offs

  Chang, when pressed by reporters on whether the DPP would compromise to secure downsizing if the opposition parties opposed the single-member district, two-vote system, was noncommittal.

  "We don't want to see the two items handled separately. However, due to political reality, the party's legislative caucus will evaluate the situation carefully," he said.

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