The Legislature voted on Tuesday on the seven nominees for the Judiciary’s Grand Justices, but none received majority approval.
According to the Constitution, the Judiciary comprises 15 Grand Justices, including a president and a vice president. Currently, only eight Grand Justices remain in office. In late August, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) nominated Chang Wen-chen (張文貞) as Judiciary president and Yao Li-ming (姚立明) as vice president, along with five additional nominees for Grand Justice positions– He Lai-jier (何賴傑), Chen Yun-tsai (陳運財), Wang Bi-fang (王碧芳), Fort Fu-te Liao (廖福特), and Liu Jing-yi (劉靜怡).
For a nominee to be confirmed, at least 57 votes from legislators are needed to secure a majority. Voting began at 9 a.m. and results were announced around 11 a.m. The Kuomintang (KMT) caucus unanimously opposed all seven nominees. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) supported only Liu while opposing the other nominees. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) backed six nominees, including Chang and Yao, but opposed Liu.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) officially announced the results around noon. Chang, Yao, He, Chen, Wang, and Liao each received 51 votes in favor and 62 against, with no invalid votes. Liu received only eight votes in favor, with 105 opposed. As a result, none of the seven nominees were confirmed.
