Taipei: The government failed once again on Friday to secure legislative confirmation of three nominees for Central Election Commission (CEC) commissioners, following the Legislature's rejection of three previous candidates in March. Former Cabinet advisor Shen Shu-fei, lawyer Tsai Wei-che, and Deputy Justice Minister Huang Mou-hsin all fell short of the required 57 "yes" votes in a confirmation vote that took place at 1 p.m. Friday.
According to Focus Taiwan, each of the three nominees received 50 "yes" votes from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), while Shen had 60 "no" votes, and Tsai and Huang each received 61 "no" votes. The Executive Yuan had nominated Shen for vice chair, and Tsai and Huang as commissioners in April, after its three previous candidates were rejected by Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) legislators in a confirmation vote in March.
The rejection of the three nominees will not prevent the CEC from operating. It currently has eight commissioners, and though it is mandated to have nine to 11 commissioners, only a minimum of five members have to be present to reach a quorum for holding meetings. Prior to Friday's vote, KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi and his TPP counterpart, Chen Ching-lung, told reporters that their two parties had decided to vote against the three nominees, in the hope of seeing more qualified candidates.
Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee stated that the Executive Yuan found the rejection of the three candidates regrettable, noting that they had received good evaluations during their confirmation hearings. The result may undermine public confidence in the objectivity and consistency of the Legislature's confirmation process, she said.