TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — With just four months before the presidential election, Taiwan’s Central Election Commission held a press conference on Tuesday (Sept. 12).

CEC Chair Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said voting would be conducted between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2024. He noted the total number of voters is 19.5 million, of which approximately 1.03 million will be voting for the first time in presidential and vice presidential elections.

Citizens will visit 17,794 voting locations across the country to cast their ballots. To efficiently process and count ballots, some 200,000 election workers will be deployed, per SETN.

Lee noted that each voter will cast three different votes on election day: one vote to choose the 16th president and vice president, one vote for a district legislator, and one vote for a political party to select at-large legislative seats.

Registration for the presidential and vice presidential elections will need to be completed between Nov. 20–24, 2020, with candidates able to apply either through nomination by their political party or through a signature drive. Political parties allowed to nominate candidates for president and vice president include the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan People's Party (TPP), and the New Power Party (NPP).

As for the threshold for presidential and vice presidential candidates registering via signature drive, according to election law, the number of signatures should reach 1.5% of the total number of electors in the most recent presidential and vice presidential election. Therefore, the threshold for signatures for the upcoming presidential election is 289,667.

Though Taiwan does not allow absentee voting, Taiwanese living abroad can exercise their right to vote in the presidential and vice presidential election by applying to their designated household registration office for the right to return and cast their vote. The application process runs from Sept. 12 to Dec. 4.

Lee said the CEC is committed to upholding a fair, impartial, and transparent election. He added that he hopes all citizens over the age of 20 will exercise their opportunity to participate in Taiwan's democracy.