Chapter 3 Election and Recall
Section 4 Electoral Districts
Article 35
The electoral districts for legislators shall be determined pursuant to the following provisions:
1. In special municipalities and counties (cities) with a quota of one legislator to be elected, its administrative district shall serve as the electoral district. In special municipalities and counties (cities) with a quota of two or more legislators to be elected, the administrative region shall be divided into the number of electoral districts equal to the quota of legislators to be elected.
2. The entire country shall serve as the electoral district for elections of legislators at-large and legislators residing overseas.
3. The electoral districts for legislators elected from the plain-land indigenous population and the maintain indigenous population shall be the plain-land indigenous population and the maintain indigenous population.
The calculation of the quota of legislators to be elected by special municipalities and counties (cities) in Subparagraph 1 shall be calculated on the basis of their population, less the indigenous population.
The electoral districts and the distribution of the quota of legislators to be elected by special municipalities and counties (cities) specified in Subparagraph 1 of Paragraph 1, shall be re-examined every ten years, with the date public notice of modifications made to electoral districts for the Seventh Legislative Yuan was issued used as the point of reference; if changes are necessary, they shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs 3 to 5 of Article 37, unless other provided for by this Act or other laws.
Article 36
The electoral districts for local public officials shall be determined pursuant to the following provisions:
1. The electoral district for special municipality councilors, county (city) councilors, township (city) council representatives, and indigenous district representatives shall be their administrative district, which may then be divided into electoral districts. The electoral district for legislators elected by the indigenous population shall be the indigenous population within their administrative district; this electoral district may be divided into the plain-land indigenous population and the mountain indigenous population, or the administrative district may be divided into electoral districts.
2. The electoral district for mayors of special municipalities, mayors of counties (cities), mayors of townships (cities), chiefs of indigenous districts, and chiefs of villages (boroughs) shall be their administrative district.
If there is a quota of indigenous candidates to be elected, the indigenous population shall be subtracted from the population that is the basis for the calculations for the quota of candidates to be elected in the electoral districts of their administrative district.
Article 37
The electoral districts for legislators specified in Article 35 and the electoral districts for special municipality councilors and county (city) councilors specified in Subparagraph 1of Paragraph 1 of the preceding article shall be divided by the Central Election Commission; the electoral districts for indigenous district representatives and township (city) council representatives specified in Subparagraph 1, Paragraph 1 of the preceding article shall be divided by the special municipality and county election commissions; public notice of the electoral districts shall be issued when public notice for an election is issued. Any modifications made to electoral districts shall be announced one year before the expiration of the term of the public officials or a stipulated date.
The electoral districts specified in the preceding paragraph shall be divided with consideration given to the administrative districts, population distribution, geographical environment, traffic conditions, historical origins and the quota of candidates to be elected.
For the modifications made to electoral districts for legislators specified in Paragraph 1, the Central Election Commission shall use the total population calculated in the household registration statistics data from the final day of the month that is two years and two months prior to the expiration of the term of the current legislators; the proposal for such modifications shall be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for approval and promulgation no later than eighteen months before the aforementioned term expires.
The Legislative Yuan shall adopt or reject the electoral district modification proposals specified in the preceding paragraph on a special municipality or county (city) basis. If such a proposal is rejected, the Central Election Commission shall solicit the opinions of all political parties and organizations in the Legislative Yuan, then modify and resubmit the proposal within thirty days from the initial rejection.
The Legislative Yuan shall adopt the electoral district modification proposal no later than thirteen months prior to the expiration of the term of the current legislators; any portion of the proposal that is not adopted within the stipulated timeframe shall be resolved through negotiation between the President of the Executive Yuan and the President of the Legislative Yuan.
Article 37-1
For the first election for the mayor, councilors, and chiefs of villages of a county (city) that is changed into a special municipality, or merged with other counties (cities) or special municipalities to form a new special municipality, the electoral districts shall be the administrative districts specified in the approved plan for such changes and the vote for such elections shall be carried out no later than ten days prior to the change.
The administrative district for indigenous districts shall be the administrative district of the district or township prior to the change; the electoral district for the first election for the representatives and chief shall be the administrative district of the district or township prior to the change; the vote for such elections shall be carried out no later than ten days prior to the change.
The division of the electoral districts for the special municipality councilors and the indigenous district representatives specified in the preceding two paragraphs shall be issued by public notice six months before the change and shall not be subject to the proviso in Paragraph 1 of the preceding article.