Taipei, Jan. 9 (CNA) A two-party system is back in Taiwan's legislature after the opposition swept three by-elections Saturday, scholars said in post-election comments, and they expected that the KMT will face more challenges in the future.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won all three seats contested in Taoyuan, Taichung and Taitung counties to boost its seat total from 27 to 30. With more than one-quarter of the seats in the 113-member Legislative Yuan, the DPP caucus is capable to launch motions to amend the Constitution or recall the president.
Results of the by-election showed that the DPP has come out from under "the lingering shadow after former president Chen Shui-bian was involved in a series of graft charges, " and it further solidified Chairman Tsai Ing-wen's status within the party, said Chen Chao-jian, a political scientist at Ming Chuan University.
"The KMT can no longer do whatever it wants, " although it still has a strong majority in the legislature, Chen said.
Being shut out in the by-election will be definitely seen as a KMT setback, said Liao Da-chi, a professor of politics at National Sun Yet-sen University. From a broader perspective, however, it could be a good thing for the people of Taiwan, she suggested.
"I really don't see how the results will jeopardize the KMT, which still has more than 70 seats in the legislature. In a broader perspective, we now have more 'balance' and party competition in the legislature, which is good for the people and democracy, " Liao said.
The seats in Taichung and Taoyuan were "basically the DPP's for the taking" because those seats were vacated after the KMT electees were convicted of vote-buying," Chen said.
The DPP's Kuo Rung-tsung and Chien Chao-tung, who lost in the previous legislative elections in 2008, beat their opponents by large margins in electoral districts in Taoyuan and Taichung counties, respectively.
"All they had to do in the campaign was ask for justice, " Chen said.
The result was another blow for President Ma Ying-jeou, whose support rate has plummeted after the U.S. beef controversy and the administration's perceived mishandling of rescue and relief operations following Typhoon Morakot in August and the H1N1 vaccination campaign.
President Ma, who also serves as the KMT chairman, "will have to launch a new wave of party reforms and a cabinet reshuffle after the by-election if he wants to have good results in the upcoming elections," he said.
Four legislative by-elections will be held next month and five special municipality mayoral elections are scheduled for later this year.
Liao looked at the impact of the by-election loss in a different light, saying that "it was probably President Ma's price to pay for his effort to reform the KMT and stop the traditional vote-buying tactics of local factions." "And I think we have to give him credit for that if he's willing to take that risk, " she said.
The negative impact will not carry over to the by-elections next month, but the KMT does need to communicate better with the local factions, Liao noted, while Chen predicted another KMT loss.