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Since the lifting of martial law in 1987, Taiwan has moved rapidly toward full-fledged democracy. Elections for important posts in the government are held regularly with active participation by people. The people of Taiwan now have greater control over affairs of state than ever before. The 2004 presidential election and the Peace Referendum represent the latest steps in more than a decade of Taiwan’s democratic development.
In fact, more posts are filled by election in Taiwan than in many other democratic countries in the world, and an election is usually held every year. The average turnout rate in Taiwan’s elections is around 70 percent; lower than in some European countries, but much higher than in the United States.
Voting eligibility is defined broadly: the minimum voting age is 20, and there are no gender, property, or educational requirements, with voter registration being automatic. The government notifies citizens of an impending election through the distribution of a bulletin or gazette that lists the candidates and their platforms.
Normally, voting is scheduled on a Saturday. A large number of election workers, typically teachers, civil servants, and other dedicated local citizens, administer paper ballots at convenient polling stations. The workers count the votes accurately and quickly, reporting the results just a few hours after the polls close. By any standard, election administration in Taiwan is honest and highly efficient.
Taiwan’s electoral process varies with the type of office. For such executive posts as president and vice president (on a single ticket), special municipality mayors 直轄市市長, county magistrates 縣長, provincial municipality mayors 省轄市市長, rural and urban township magistrates 鄉鎮長, and county municipality mayors 縣轄市市長, each voter casts one vote in a single-member district, and the candidate who receives a plurality of the vote is elected (first-past-the-post system).
Elections for the Legislative Yuan 立法院, special municipal councils 直轄市議會, county or city councils 縣市議會, and township councils 鄉鎮市民代表會, use the single non-transferable vote (SNTV) method. Normally, several representatives are elected from a single electoral district, which is based essentially on existing administrative boundaries. Each voter casts only one vote, and several leading candidates are elected.
Since 1991, a certain number of seats have been reserved for a national constituency and the overseas Chinese communities in the National Assembly 國民大會 and Legislative Yuan elections. These seats are allocated by proportional representation (PR). Prior to an election, each party submits two lists of candidates, one for the national constituency and the other for overseas Chinese communities. However, Taiwan voters do not vote directly for candidates on the party lists. Instead, they vote in their respective SNTV districts, and the votes obtained by all candidates are totaled according to party affiliation. The seats for the national constituency and overseas Chinese communities are then distributed proportionally among the parties that get at least 5 percent of total valid votes nationwide. Twenty-two percent of the seats in the 2001 Legislative Yuan election were filled this way.
As for women’s representation within the Legislative Yuan, legal guarantees for women have been codified into the constitution. Over the past decade, women have earned a solid foothold in the Legislative Yuan. In 1995, women earned a mere 23 seats, or 14.0 percent, of the Legislative Yuan. In the 1998 election, women garnered 43 seats, or 19.1 percent, and in the 2001 election 50 seats, or 22.2 percent.
| Term/Year |
Seats |
No. of Candidates |
No. of Electees |
| Male |
Female |
Female % |
Male |
Female |
Female % |
| 5th |
2001 |
225 |
474 |
110 |
18.8% |
175 |
50 |
22.2% |
| 4th |
1998 |
225 |
412 |
86 |
17.3% |
182 |
43 |
19.1% |
| 3rd |
1995 |
164 |
347 |
50 |
12.6% |
141 |
23 |
14.0% |
In accordance with the latest amendment to the Constitution passed by the National Assembly on April 24, 2000, the future National Assembly will consist of 300 members and be elected by PR. However, it will only convene to ratify a proposal by the Legislative Yuan for amending the Constitution, altering the national territory, or impeaching the president or vice president.
Since 1991, the National Assembly has amended the ROC Constitution six times, changing, to a certain degree, the electoral mechanism in Taiwan. First, the terms of office for the ROC president and for National Assemblymen were shortened from six years to four (the term for Legislative Yuan members remains three years), and proportional representation was introduced to the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly elections. As a result of the latest constitutional amendment, the National Assembly meets on an ad hoc basis. Second, the president and vice president are now elected by direct vote of all eligible citizens in the free area of the ROC, rather than indirectly by the National Assembly as in the past. 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 監察院 has changed. Previously, Control Yuan members were elected by provincial assemblies and special municipal councils. They are now nominated and appointed by the president with the consent of the Legislative Yuan. This reform has transformed the Control Yuan from a parliamentary body to a semi-judicial institution. Fourth, the constitutional amendment passed in mid-1997 streamlined the provincial government. As a consequence, the provincial governor and the Taiwan Provincial Assemblymen are no longer directly elected.
The current electoral system for the legislative elections has been criticized for minimizing the role of parties and policies in the elections and for increasing corruption and factional politics. Since his inauguration in May 2000, President Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁 has repeatedly called for cooperation between the governing and opposition parties to restructure the legislature, chiefly revamping the method of electing members to the Legislative Yuan and cutting the number of legislative seats in half. On August 23, 2004, the Legislative Yuan passed landmark constitutional amendment proposals to cut the number of legislative seats from 225 to 113, extend terms to four years from three, adopt a "single-district, two-vote" system, ensure women half of the seats for legislators from the nationwide constituency, give people referendum rights, and abolish the National Assembly. The revised versions will be made public for six months and be submitted to the new National Assembly for approval.
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