CEC Holds Hearing; Scholars and Parties Call for Lowering Candidate Deposits to Boost Political Participation
Taiwan's Central Election Commission (CEC) held a public hearing on June 4 regarding the amount of election deposits for local elections. Most attending experts, scholars, and political party representatives supported lowering the deposit to reduce barriers for young people and small parties. The CEC stated it will submit the opinions to its committee for deliberation and announce the decision on August 27.
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- 📰 Published: June 4, 2026 at 18:50
- 🔍 Collected: June 4, 2026 at 18:56 (6 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 6, 2026 at 15:37 (44h 41m after Collected)
(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 4) The Central Election Commission (CEC) held a public hearing today on setting the amount of election deposits for local government candidate registrations. Most attending experts, scholars, and political party representatives supported lowering candidate deposits to avoid hindering young people or small parties from participating in politics. The CEC stated it will submit the relevant opinions to its committee for deliberation and announce the decision on August 27.
The election deposit system for public office has been in place for over 40 years. Control Yuan Member Chi Hui-jung pointed out in 2023 that the current deposit amounts have largely remained unchanged since they were set in 1994, with the CEC only holding hearings in 2019 and 2022, and only lowering the deposit for mayoral candidates in special municipalities from NT$2 million to NT$1.5 million.
At today's hearing, Tsai Chia-hung, a researcher at the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University, suggested that deposits for city councilors and village chiefs could be considered for a 50% reduction to lower barriers to political participation. He also proposed lowering the vote threshold for refunding the deposit to 2% to prevent disadvantaged candidates from being deterred by the cost.
Tsai Jung-hsiang, a professor of political science at National Chung Cheng University, noted that while deposits prevent frivolous candidates, it is worth examining whether they are set too high, effectively depriving economically disadvantaged people of their right to run for office. According to administrative law principles, deposits should only be maintained or reduced. He questioned whether the current disparity—NT$200,000 for special municipality councilors and NT$120,000 for county/city councilors—is proportionate.
Shen Hsiao-chi, an assistant professor of political science at Soochow University, stated that local elections are the main battleground for small parties, disadvantaged groups, and young candidates. Therefore, from the perspective of promoting fair competition and reflecting diverse values, the barriers to entry for local elections should be as low as possible, and all current deposits have room for reduction.
Chang Po-wei, Deputy Director of the Taiwan People's Party caucus in the Legislative Yuan, suggested that the CEC should implement gradual reforms, progressively lowering deposits for all types of elections and studying the introduction of a voter petition system as a long-term alternative.
Huang Ting-ting, an executive committee member of the Small Power Participating OBA Alliance, said that in the alliance's experience over the past three elections, more than half of their election expenses went to deposits, severely impacting the ability of small parties to run and survive. She recommended establishing a formula for calculating deposits based on the basic wage.
A representative from the Civil Participation Division of the Ministry of the Interior's Department of Civil Affairs stated that the decision to lower deposits falls under the CEC's authority. Replacing deposits with petitions or reviewing the refund threshold would require legislative amendments and social consensus, and the ministry will continue to study the issue with the CEC.
Lee Li-chung, a CEC commissioner who chaired the hearing, stated that the meeting minutes will be submitted to the CEC committee for discussion, and the results will be published in the candidate registration announcement on August 27, as required by law. (Editor: Su Chih-tsung) 1150604
The election deposit system for public office has been in place for over 40 years. Control Yuan Member Chi Hui-jung pointed out in 2023 that the current deposit amounts have largely remained unchanged since they were set in 1994, with the CEC only holding hearings in 2019 and 2022, and only lowering the deposit for mayoral candidates in special municipalities from NT$2 million to NT$1.5 million.
At today's hearing, Tsai Chia-hung, a researcher at the Election Study Center of National Chengchi University, suggested that deposits for city councilors and village chiefs could be considered for a 50% reduction to lower barriers to political participation. He also proposed lowering the vote threshold for refunding the deposit to 2% to prevent disadvantaged candidates from being deterred by the cost.
Tsai Jung-hsiang, a professor of political science at National Chung Cheng University, noted that while deposits prevent frivolous candidates, it is worth examining whether they are set too high, effectively depriving economically disadvantaged people of their right to run for office. According to administrative law principles, deposits should only be maintained or reduced. He questioned whether the current disparity—NT$200,000 for special municipality councilors and NT$120,000 for county/city councilors—is proportionate.
Shen Hsiao-chi, an assistant professor of political science at Soochow University, stated that local elections are the main battleground for small parties, disadvantaged groups, and young candidates. Therefore, from the perspective of promoting fair competition and reflecting diverse values, the barriers to entry for local elections should be as low as possible, and all current deposits have room for reduction.
Chang Po-wei, Deputy Director of the Taiwan People's Party caucus in the Legislative Yuan, suggested that the CEC should implement gradual reforms, progressively lowering deposits for all types of elections and studying the introduction of a voter petition system as a long-term alternative.
Huang Ting-ting, an executive committee member of the Small Power Participating OBA Alliance, said that in the alliance's experience over the past three elections, more than half of their election expenses went to deposits, severely impacting the ability of small parties to run and survive. She recommended establishing a formula for calculating deposits based on the basic wage.
A representative from the Civil Participation Division of the Ministry of the Interior's Department of Civil Affairs stated that the decision to lower deposits falls under the CEC's authority. Replacing deposits with petitions or reviewing the refund threshold would require legislative amendments and social consensus, and the ministry will continue to study the issue with the CEC.
Lee Li-chung, a CEC commissioner who chaired the hearing, stated that the meeting minutes will be submitted to the CEC committee for discussion, and the results will be published in the candidate registration announcement on August 27, as required by law. (Editor: Su Chih-tsung) 1150604