The Central Election Commission (CEC), established in 1980, handles election-related affairs at all levels. These affairs include recalls, referendums, defining constituency boundaries, financial assistance for candidates and political parties, as well as the drafting, revision and abolishment of election-related regulations.
The CEC is mainly responsible for handling the presidential and legislative elections as well as government elections in the nation's five special municipalities. But the actual administration of Taiwan's elections at lower levels, is the responsibility of election commissions in the nation’s 22 cities and counties.
An independent body, the CEC falls under the supervision of the Cabinet. It has 9 to 11 commissioners nominated by the premier and approved by the legislature.
To ensure impartiality, no more than two-fifths of the commissioners can come from any one political party. Meanwhile, no more than one third of the people making up any CEC body can come from the same political party. In addition, all levels of the organization include independents.
Under Taiwan’s election laws, elections are always held on Saturdays, in order to give voters plenty of time to cast their ballots. The voting booths will be turned into a place for counting votes as soon as the polls close. The votes will be counted one by one and the names of the chosen candidates will be read out loud. The public is welcome to watch the process.