The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus yesterday decried the legislature’s confirmation of former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Chu (陳菊) as Control Yuan president, saying that the party would file for a constitutional interpretation on the legality of the approval of her and 26 other Control Yuan nominees by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators.
The TPP legislators made the remarks after the Legislative Yuan earlier in the day approved President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) appointment of Chen in a 65-3 vote, with two votes invalidated. The DPP has a majority in the 113-seat legislature.
TPP caucus whip Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) said that her caucus on Wednesday sent the Legislative Yuan Conference Department a letter asking whether the review of the nominees’ qualifications should be deemed valid given that it had ground to a halt.
Photo courtesy of the TPP
However, there was no response, Lai said.
Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) failed to remain neutral on Thursday when he read the DPP’s motion to prematurely end the review amid chaos — a move that was clearly biased, she said.
The Legislative Yuan has turned a deaf ear to calls from the TPP and the New Power Party (NPP) caucuses for the vote on the nominees to be held after their qualifications were adequately reviewed, she said.
The TPP believes that the flawed process warrants a constitutional interpretation, which it would seek from the Council of Grand Justices, Lai said.
If the council rules against yesterday’s vote, the investiture of Chen and the other nominees would be repealed, she said.
Earlier yesterday, before the vote, the NPP caucus told a news conference that You had become a rubber stamp for the ruling party by allowing a vote to be scheduled before proper review of the nominees’ qualifications could be completed.
The Constitutional Interpretation Procedure Act (司法院大法官審理案件法) stipulates that lawmakers may request a constitutional interpretation only if potentially unconstitutional elements manifest themselves while they are discharging their duties, so NPP lawmakers were to take part in the procedure by voting against the nominations, NPP caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chi (邱顯智) said.
The NPP, which holds three seats, said it would ask for a constitutional interpretation on whether the confirmations were valid, given that the nominees did not undergo the legally mandated review process.
The 27 Control Yuan nominees confirmed yesterday are to begin their roles on Aug. 1, and would serve six-year terms.
Additional reporting by Wu Su-wei and CNA
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