Taiwan Tourism

Elections for important posts in Taiwan's government are held regularly, political parties have matured, and people actively participate in campaigns and elections. The people of Taiwan now have greater control over national affairs than ever before. Voting eligibility is defined broadly: the minimum voting age is 20, and there are no gender, property, or educational requirements. Voter registration is automatic and citizens are notified of all impending elections through the distribution of a bulletin that identifies and briefly describes the candidates and their platforms.

Voting is usually scheduled for Saturdays, when a large number of election workers, typically teachers and civil servants, administer paper ballots at conveniently located polling stations. The results of each election are announced within a few hours of the polls' closing.

In elections for special municipality councils, county or city councils, and township councils, voters cast a single non-transferable vote (SNTV) for a given position. Councilors also serve a term of four years.

Since 1991, members of the Legislative Yuan have been elected in one of two ways: of the 225 seats, 184 are directly elected in the manner of local councils, in that each voter casts a ballot for a particular candidate in his or her respective SNTV district, while 41 seats are reserved for the national constituency and for citizens residing abroad. These latter seats are allocated based on closed party representation list. This means that each party determines the order of candidates prior to an election and that these seats are allocated proportionally among parties garnering more than 5 percent of total valid votes.

From 1991 to 2000, the National Assembly amended the Constitution six times, making a number of changes to the electoral mechanism. First, the terms of office for the president and National Assembly members were shortened from six years to four, and proportional representation was introduced for elections for the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly. Further, as a result of these revisions, the National Assembly became an ad hoc body. Second, the president and vice president are now elected by direct popular vote, rather than indirectly by the National Assembly as previously. To be elected, a presidential and vice presidential ticket needs only a plurality, not a majority, of the vote. Third, the method of selecting members of the Control Yuan was changed. Previously, Control Yuan members were elected by provincial assemblies and special municipality councils. They are now nominated and appointed by the president with the approval of the Legislative Yuan. This reform has transformed the Control Yuan into a semi-judicial institution (see also chapter 4, "Government"). Fourth, the constitutional amendments passed in 1997 shrank the size of the provincial government. As a consequence, the provincial governor and members of the Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council were no longer directly elected.

In 2004, the Legislative Yuan passed a resolution on a further constitutional amendment, which proposed halving the number of legislators, increasing the term of legislators from three years to four, abolishing the National Assembly and transferring its power to vote on constitutional amendments to the people, and ensuring that at least half of the national constituency seats go to female candidates. In 2005, the amendment was ratified by the National Assembly. It will first apply to the election for the Seventh Legislative Yuan.

This restructured legislature will consist of single-member-district seats as well as seats for the national constituency. Under this new system, labeled "one district, two votes," each voter will cast two votes in each legislative election—one for their candidate of choice for their own district, and one for a party. The candidate in each district garnering the most votes wins that particular seat. The votes for parties are tallied and seats for the national constituency allocated based on how each party polled.