Taiwan's Mixed-Member Electoral System Explained: How Seats Are Determined

During elections, in addition to casting a vote for a candidate from your constituency, you also have a "party-list vote" in your hand. This ballot is not cast for a specific person, yet it determines the allocation of 34 seats in the Legislative Yuan for "non-constituency lawmakers." This is an often-misunderstood yet crucial aspect of Taiwan's electoral system.

How are non-constituency lawmakers elected?

Non-constituency lawmakers, also known as lawmakers representing the whole country and overseas citizens, do not represent a specific constituency, but are instead allocated based on the party-list vote share of each political party. Before the election, each party submits a "party-list" and ranks candidates in order. Once the votes are calculated to determine the number of seats allocated to each party, the candidates are elected in the order listed.

What is the significance of the party-list vote?

The party-list vote allows voters to express their overall support for a particular party, and also provides an opportunity for individuals with specific expertise or representation (such as academics, social movement activists, or representatives of marginalized groups) to enter the legislature, enriching the diversity of the legislative body.

The 5% threshold: a critical hurdle

For a party to be eligible to allocate non-constituency seats, it must cross the 5% threshold in terms of party-list vote share. While this threshold has little impact on larger parties, it often proves to be a make-or-break point for smaller parties, with tiny margins between success and failure.

What does the party-list rank reflect?

In a way, the ranking of candidates on the party-list reflects a party's values and talent deployment. Who is on the list and in what order often serves as an important indicator for voters to evaluate a party's worth. By viewing our website's lawmaker list, you can see the composition of the current non-constituency lawmakers.