Taiwan Lawmakers Pass Sweeping Legislative
Mon Aug 23, 6:23 AM ET
By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwanese lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly agreed to slash in half the 225-seat legislature and revamp the election system � sweeping historic changes designed to tackle corruption and weed out misbehaving legislators.
Taiwanese have long been embarrassed by their parliament, its reputation tainted by fist fights and other outrageous behavior by politicians who only needed a small number of votes to get elected. Critics say some legislators have ties with gangsters.
Wrapping up a weeklong special session, lawmakers passed constitutional amendments that reduced seats in the legislature from 225 to 113 and made other changes that would make it more difficult to get elected. The proposal passed with a 200-1 vote. Ten lawmakers abstained and the others didn't show up for the vote.
The reforms will become effective in 2008.
One of the most significant reforms involves creating an election system that only allows one candidate to win in each voting district. Voters will now cast two ballots: one for a candidate and another for a party.
Parties that received more than 5 percent of the votes will be allowed to win some of the 23 seats designated for lawmakers-at-large, which are named by parties. The number of seats a party gets would be in proportion to the number of party votes it won.
This electoral system would replace one instituted by the Japanese when the island was ruled by Japan in 1895-1945. Several years ago, Japan abandoned the system.
The system features voting districts in which several candidates � even ones from the same party � are elected. In some districts, there are up to 10 seats up for grabs. To win, candidates don't need a majority or even a plurality. They just need to be one of the top vote-getters.
Critics complain that the system enables gangsters and other shady politicians to get elected because they only need a few thousand votes to win.
The system also makes issue-based debates less important because often several candidates from the same party are competing against each other, critics say. Since they generally agree on issues, candidates distinguish themselves with mudslinging or vote buying. |
