Nonpartisans and Party System of Taiwan: Evidence from 1996, 2000 and 2004 Presidential Elections

In: Journal of Asian and African studies: JAAS, Volume 43, Issue 6, p. 615-641

Abstract

Since 1986, Taiwan has entered an era of party competition and witnessed the flourishing of political parties in terms of the number of parties and their relative strength. We find that the vacillation in the proportion of nonpartisanship is remarkable before and after the relinquishing of KMT dominance in 2000. We argue that partisans may conceal their party attachment if their parties fail to live up to their expectations. The experience of the changing Taiwanese electorate has theoretical implications for other consolidating democracies, especially the eastern European countries that also had one single dominant party before regime change.