2011-04-21 10:43

TAIPEI -- Taiwan authorities announced on Tuesday that elections for the island's leader and legislative body, which are normally held two to three months apart, will be combined.

After more than three hours of debate, the authorities' election committee determined through a consensus of its 11 members that it would combine the two elections.

Chang Po-ya, head of the committee, said that none of the committee members opposed the combination, though some expressed conditional agreement.

According to an earlier statement by the committee, the decision was made in accordance with results of public opinion polls and public hearings on the issue. The committee did not reveal the exact timing of the combined elections.

According to the previous schedule, Taiwan's legislators would be re-elected in January 2012. The election for the region's leader would take place in March 2012.

Currently, the ruling Kuomintang and other parties in the Pan-Blue coalition hold 73 of 113 seats in Taiwan's legislative body, while the major opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) holds 33 seats.

A public opinion poll conducted and released by the election committee last week showed that about 55.7 percent of the people of Taiwan favored the idea of combining the two elections, while 32.6 percent opposed it.

Another survey conducted by Taiwan's internal affairs authority in March also indicated that more than 60 percent of the public agreed with the idea of holding combined elections.