Section  3 Candidates

Article 20
An elector who has lived in the free regions of the ROC for not less than 6 consecutive months, has set his/her domicile in the ROC for not less than 15 years, and has completed his/her fortieth year of age may apply for being registered as the candidate for President or Vice President.
Anyone who restores the ROC nationality or acquires the ROC nationality by naturalization or the people in the People’s Republic of China or the residents in Hong Kong and Macao who are permitted to enter Taiwan may not be registered as the candidate for President or Vice President.

Article 21
The candidates for President and Vice President shall prepare the forms set forth by the Central Election Commission and the deposit to apply for registration with the Commission in conjunction. If the application is not filed for registration in conjunction, or the forms or the deposit does not meet the relevant provisions, and the application is not filed within the specified time limit, it will not be accepted.
The candidates referred to in the preceding Paragraph shall be recommended by their political party or by the means of joint signature of the signers.
If it is found through examination that one or both of the candidates for President and Vice President of a same group does not meet the qualification requirements, the group of the candidates shall not be registered.

Article 22
If the application for being registered with the Central Election Commission as the candidates for President and Vice President is filed by the way of political party recommendation, a letter of recommendation stamped with the political party’s seal issued by the Ministry of the Interior shall be submitted together with the application. If two or more political parties jointly recommend a same group of the candidates, a letter of recommendation separately stamped with the political parties’ seals in order shall be submitted together with the application. A same political party may not recommend two or more groups of the candidates, and if two or more groups of the candidates are recommended by a same political party, the application for registration filed later will not be accepted.
In the latest election of President, Vice President or members of the Legislative Yuan, the sum of the votes of the candidates recommended by the political party referred to in the preceding Paragraph shall reach not less than 5% of the total effective ballots of the election. If two or more political parties jointly recommend one group of the candidates for President and Vice President, the votes of the candidate recommended by each political party shall be calculated by dividing the votes of the candidates by the number of the political parties.

Article 23
Those who apply for being registered as the candidates for President and Vice President by the way of joint signature shall, within 5 days after the public notice for election is issued, apply to the Central Election Commission for being the presentees recommended by way of joint signature and to receive a list of joint signers, and pay the deposit of NT$1,000,000.
After receiving the application referred to in the preceding Paragraph, the Central Election Commission shall give a public notice at a specified time to declare the applicants as the presentees recommended by joint signature, and request the municipal or county (city) election commission to accept the joint signature documents submitted by the presentees or their agent within 45 days commencing from the day after the public notice is issued. However, in case of by-election or reelection, the documents shall be accepted within 25 days commencing from the day after the public notice is issued.
A citizen in the free regions of the ROC who has completed his/her twentieth year of age by the day when the public notice for election is issued may be a joint signer as referred to in the preceding Paragraph.
If the number of joint signers, within the period set forth in Paragraph Two, has reached 1.5% of the total electors in the latest election of the members of the Legislative Yuan, the Central Election Commission shall give a public notice at a specified time for the completion of joint signature, grant the presentees a certificate on the completion of joint signature and return the deposit. If the number of joint signers does not reach a half of the value prescribed, the deposit will not be returned.
The presentees or their agent shall print the list of joint signers and the affidavit in the formats prescribed by the Central Election Commission to collect signatures. Upon performing the joint signature, the joint signers shall produce a photocopy of ID card. A same signer shall only sign for one group of presentees, and if he/she signs for two or more presentees, both the signatures will become invalid.
After receiving the joint signature documents referred to in the preceding Paragraph, the municipal or county (city) election commissions shall perform selective examination and then report the result of examination to the Central Election Commission level by level. Under any of the following circumstances, the signature of a joint signer shall be deleted:
1. Where the joint signer does not meet the provision of Paragraph Three or Five.
2. Where the data recorded in the photocopy of the joint signer’s ID card is not clear so that the name, date of birth or ID No. of the joint signer can not be identified.
3. Where the list of joint signers is not signed or sealed by the signer.
4. Where the signature of the joint signer is forged.
The joint signature documents referred to in the preceding Paragraph shall be kept for three months after ballot counting. However, if any lawsuit regarding the election is raised during the period of keeping, the period shall be prolonged to three months after the judgement is determined.
Regulations governing the joint signature and examination of signatures shall be prescribed by the Central Election Commission.

Article 24
To apply for being registered with the Central Election Commission as the candidates for President and Vice President by the way of joint signature, a certificate on the completion of joint signature shall be submitted together with the application.

Article 25
If the voting is held on the same day for the election of President and Vice President and for election(s) of other civil servants, and a person is registered as the candidates for two or more kinds of election, the registration of other civil servants shall be invalid.

Article 26
Under any of the following circumstances, a person may not be registered as the candidate for President or Vice President:
1. Where the person has committed the crime of insurrection or the crime relating to foreign regression after the period of suppressing communist rebellion, and the sentence is determined.
2. Where the person has committed the crime of corruption and the sentence is determined.
3. Where the person has committed the crime prescribed in Paragraphs One and Two of Article 84 and Subparagraph 1 of Paragraph One of Article 85 or the corresponding attempted offense, the crime prescribed in Paragraph One of Article 86, Subparagraph 1 of Paragraph One of Article 87, Paragraph One of Article 88, Paragraph One of Article 89; Paragraphs One and Two of Article 89, and Subparagraph 1 of Paragraph One of Article 90 of Civil Servants Election and Recall Act or the corresponding attempted offense, or the crime prescribed in Paragraph One of Article 90-1, Subparagraph 1 of Paragraph One of Article 91 and Paragraph One of Article 91-1 of Civil Servants Election and Recall Act and Article 142 or 144 of the Criminal Code, and the sentence is determined.
4. Where the person has committed any crime prescribed in the Organized Crime Prevention Act, and the sentence is determined.
5. Where the person has committed any crime other than prescribed in the preceding four Subparagraphs and is sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment, and the imprisonment has not been executed or has not been finished yet, or is under probation.
6. Where the person is sentenced to death, life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, and the sentence is not determined yet.
7. Where the person is sentenced to the security punishment of enforced work or reclamation, and the judgement is determined but not executed or not finished, or has not been finished for 10 years.
8. Where the person is sentenced to other security punishment, and the judgement is determined but not executed or not finished.
9. Where the person is announced to be bankrupt and has not recovered the property rights.
10. Where the person is dismissed or recalled according to law and the period has not expired.
11. Where the person is deprived of public rights.
12. Where the person has become subject to the order of the commencement of guardianship or assistantship has not been cancelled yet.

Article 27
The following persons may not apply for being registered as the candidate for President or Vice President:
1. Armyman in active service.
2. The personnel handling election affairs.
3. The persons holding the nationality of a foreign country.
If the armyman referred to in Subparagraph 1 is mustered from reservist, or has not enrolled in the army, or is mustered for education, service or drilling, he shall be exempted from the restriction.
If the election is judged by the court as invalid due to the reason as prescribed in Subparagraphs 2 to 4 of Paragraph One of Article 104, electees may not apply for being registered as the candidate for the by-election of President or Vice President.

Article 28
After the list of the candidates for President and Vice President is announced in public notice, if it is found a candidate conforms to any of the following circumstances before the public notice or before the voting, the Central Election Commission shall cancel the registration of the candidate before the voting; or if the candidate is elected, raise a lawsuit claiming the electee’s being elected is invalid in accordance with the provision of Article 105:
1. Where the candidate does not meet the qualification requirement set forth in Article 20.
2. Where the candidate conforms to any of the Subparagraphs of Article 26.
3. Where the candidate may not be registered as the candidate according to the provisions of Paragraphs One and Three of the preceding Article.
4. Where the candidate may not be registered as the candidate according to the provisions of Paragraph One of Article 78.

Article 29
If one of the candidates for President dies after the deadline for registration and before the polling day, the Central Election Commission shall immediately give a public notice to stop the election, and determine another time for reelection.
For the reelection handled in accordance with the provision of the preceding Paragraph, the certificates on the completion of joint signature acquired by the candidates for President and Vice President before the public notice is issued to stop the election shall also apply to the reelection.

Article 30
The persons who have been registered as the candidates for President and Vice President may not relinquish the registration.
For the registered candidates for President and Vice President recommended by political parties, the political parties may not relinquish the recommendation.

Article 31
When being registered as the candidates for President and Vice President, each group of candidates shall pay the deposit of NT$15,000,000.
The deposit referred to in the preceding Paragraph shall be returned within 10 days after the list of electees is publicized. However, the deposit will not be returned to the candidates who get votes of less than 5% of the total electors.

Article 32
The deposit referred to in Paragraph One of Article 23 and Paragraph One of the preceding Article shall be paid in cash, promissory note or certified check issued by financial institutions, or giro check of the Post Office only.

Article 33
The qualifications of candidates shall be determined and publicized by the Central Election Commission, and anyone who does not meet the qualification requirements may not be registered. To decide the numbering of the candidates in the determined list of candidates, the Central Election Commission shall notify each group of candidates to draw lottery publicly 3 days before the list of candidates is publicized.
If there is only one group of candidates, it shall be numbered the No.1, and the lottery referred to in the preceding paragraph may be exempted.
The lottery for determining the numbering of the candidates shall be conducted under the on-site supervision of supervisors. One candidate of each group shall arrive at the spot to draw lottery personally. If a group of candidates cannot arrive at the spot to draw lottery personally, someone else may be commissioned to draw the lottery on behalf by right of the power of attorney produced by the group of candidates. If a group of candidates does not attend the lottery and does not commission anyone else to draw the lottery, or does not draw the lottery after being called for three times although they are present, the Central Election Commission shall draw the lottery on behalf of the group of candidates.