Pollster, law professor nominated as CEC chair, vice chair

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation Chairman Michael You (游盈隆) and Soochow University law professor Hu Po-yen (胡博硯) have been nominated to serve as chairman and vice chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Executive Yuan said Monday.

Other nominated commissioners include lawyer and ex-lawmaker Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲), former Taoyuan mayor under Taoyuan County Chen Tsung-yi (陳宗義), and China University of Science and Technology Vice President Lee Li-chung (李禮仲).

Fooyin University professor Su Jia-hong (蘇嘉宏) and Soochow University professor Su Tzu-chiao (蘇子喬) were also nominated as commissioners.

The 11-commissioner CEC currently only has four commissioners, but requires a minimum of five to convene a meeting and make resolutions, according to regulations, bringing urgency to the process.

The four-year terms of six commissioners, including Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) and Vice Chairman Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建), expired on Nov. 3, while former commissioner Meng Chih-cheng (蒙志成) resigned in June amid a corruption probe.

The nominees were selected by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) based on recommendations from each party and ideally had a bipartisan background, strong theoretical and practical expertise, and experience in both central and local governments, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said in a statement.

Lee Li-chung and Su Jia-hong were recommended by the KMT while Su Tzu-chiao was recommended by the TPP, Michelle Lee said.

If approved by the Legislature, the commissioners will serve until Nov. 3, 2029, except for Chen Tsung-yi, who will serve until Nov. 3, 2027 to finish Meng's term, the spokesperson said.

You is a former DPP member, but he has been somewhat of a thorn in the side of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), often voicing criticism of the DPP's leadership while heading one of Taiwan's top polling organizations.

That perceived independence may help him get confirmed despite the gaping political divide between the Executive Yuan and the opposition-controlled Legislature, which has prevented the confirmation of nominees to Taiwan's Constitutional Court and National Communications Commission.

The opposition Taiwan People's Party (TPP) reacted relatively positively to the nominees, though it said it would still carefully review the nominees in accordance with the law.

TPP Legislator Chang Chi-kai (張啓楷) told local media outlet United Daily News that the Cabinet had consulted the opposition on the nominations and said You's stance was relatively objective and neutral.

He said he hoped the nominations for Constitutional Court justices and National Communications Commission members could be selected using the same model.

Lawmaker Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) of the larger opposition Kuomintang (KMT) also did not dismiss the nominations out of hand as the KMT has done in other instances, saying that the party caucus will prioritize neutrality in election affairs in reviewing the candidates.