A legislative committee yesterday approved a draft bill regulating the handover of the presidency, which empowers the incumbent president and the president-elect to form an ad hoc team to handle the transition.
The Judicial, Organic Laws and Statutes Committee passed the preliminary review of the bill governing the handover procedure for the presidency and vice presidency. The bill will proceed to the plenary legislative sitting for its second reading without further negotiations.
There was prolonged debate over who should supervise the handover procedure before committee members reached an agreement yesterday.
The draft submitted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed giving the job to the Judicial Yuan, but Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Hsieh Wen-ting (謝文定) said that this would violate the yuan’s constitutional duty.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) proposed replacing the supervisory body with an ad hoc commission to be formed within seven days of the Central Election Commission (CEC) formally promulgating the election result, led by someone appointed by the incumbent president.
DPP committee members said the president-elect should be able to choose the commission’s leader.
The committee then agreed to form an 11-person commission with the president-elect appointing the group leader and half of the 10 members, and the incumbent president appointing the remaining five.
Under the draft bill, the president and vice president-elect would establish a temporary office to handle the handover after the Central Election Commission (CEC) formally promulgates the election result. The handover office would be dissolved after the transition was completed.
Under the proposed law, the incumbent president and vice president would be banned from making any new Cabinet appointments after the CEC promulgates the election results and the premier and ministers must abide by the proposed law as well.
During the pre-inaugural period, all policies that have not been implemented, plus all decrees, international treaties and special budgets considered controversial by the president-elect must be put on hold.
The draft also outlines the items the outgoing president must hand over to his or her successor, including documents concerning national defense, foreign affairs and cross-strait relations. Violations that involved in penal offenses would be subject to criminal investigation.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Office denied speculation yesterday that it had bought 57 shredders to depose of sensitive documents before the handover.
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said he wondered why the Presidential Office needed 123 shredders for its 359 staffers.
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