Republic of China legislative election, 1983

On December 3, 1983 the fifth supplementary election took place for members of the first Legislative Yuan, the main legislative body of the Republic of China and elected originally in 1948.

Compared with the fourth supplementary election the number of new delegates to the Legislative Yuan had been increased by one from 97 to 98 due to an increase in population. Of these, 71 were to be elected directly representing Taiwan Province and the special municipalities of Taipei and Kaohsiung. The remaining 27 seats were to represent Mainland Chinese living on Taiwan. These delegates were appointed by the President after being advised by organizations representing the Mainland Chinese population on Taiwan. Due to attrition the number of members elected originally in 1948 had been reduced from 760 to 274, with an average age of 77.

Turnout for the supplementary election was 63,2%. Of the 71 directly elected delegates, 62 belonged to the Kuomintang and 9 were independents. Of these independents six belonged to the Tangwai. All chosen were born Taiwanese except for five, who were born on the Mainland or from parents from the Mainland.

Further reading

Copper, John F. and George P. Chen (1984), Taiwan’s Elections. Political Development and Democratization in the Republic of China, [Baltimore, Md.] , Occasional Papers/Reprints Series in Contemporary Asian Studies, no. 5-1984 (64), ISBN 0-942182-66-9