PRESIDENTIAL AND LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS TO BE HELD CONCURRENTLY

A final decision has been reached by the Central Election Commission that both the presidential and legislative elections next year will be held on the same day, in an attempt to avoid the waste of public resources that an extended election season would cause. And the exact voting date will be confirmed during another meeting by the commission on May 17th.

On Tuesday, the Central Election Commission voted to merge the 8th legislative and 13th presidential elections.

The decision was made after a series of public hearings were held and opinion polls were conducted, and the vote was unanimous. According to the CEC, holding the two elections concurrently will save on social expenditures and election costs while adding a measure of convenience for voters.

The move is also expected to be beneficial to the development of industry. CEC officials will be meeting with local election commissions before the end of the month to discuss potential election dates and finalize the date on May 17th.

According to reports, the date will likely be in mid-January. CEC Chairman Chang Po-ya says that merging the elections will not create an "open window period" because Taiwan is a democratic, sovereign nation.

The CEC will also be working with the Ministry of the Interior to resolve issues relating to the different lengths of presidential and legislative terms.

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