Taipei, Feb.1 （CNA） Taipei City will be divided into eight constituencies for the year-end legislative elections, according to the newly promulgated districting scheme.
After many twists and turns, the Central Election Commission （CEC） managed to secure 11th-hour compromises to complete electoral redistricting shortly before the legal deadline Wednesday.
Redistricting is necessary for the new Legislative Yuan elections because a new "single-member constituency, two vote" electoral system will be adopted and the number of legislative seats will be cut to 113 from 225 in line with a package of constitutional amendments passed in 2005.
According to the new districting blueprint, Taipei Citys first constituency will cover the Peitou administrative district and 13 boroughs in the Shihlin district.
The second constituency will be comprised of Tatung district and 38 boroughs in the Shihlin district; the third constituency will include the Chungshan district and 20 boroughs in the Sungshan district.
The fourth constituency will encompass both the Neihu and Nankang administrative districts, while the fifth constituency will cover Wanhua district and 21 boroughs in the Chungcheng district.
The sixth constituency will cover the Taan administrative district, and the seventh constituency will contain the Hsinyi district and 13 boroughs in the Sungshan district, while the eighth constituency will incorporate the Wenshan district and 10 boroughs in the Chungcheng district.
Taipei was among the 10 cities and counties where electoral redistricting was not finalized until Wednesday. Six of them upheld the CEC-drafted redistricting plans, including Taipei City, while disputes over the remaining four were finally settled by way of lot drawing.
The opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan approved the CEC-drafted redistricting designs for 15 cities and counties around the country before its winter session concluded Jan. 19.
As the next legislative elections could result in major changes in the domestic political landscape, major political parties are reluctant to surrender even the smallest advantage, making compromises difficult to reach.
After grueling negotiations between Premier Su Tseng-chang and Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng in accordance with legal provisions, decisions were finally reached Wednesday evening that the CEC-drafted redistricting blueprints for six other cities and counties －－ Taipei City, Taichung County, Taichung City, Tainan County, Changhua County and Miaoli County －－ will also be upheld.
With Su and Wangs assent, redistricting designs for the remaining four －－ Taipei County, Taoyuan County, Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County －－ were determined by way of drawing lots based on versions presented by legislative caucuses of individual political parties or versions previously worked out by the legislature through consensus.
Among them, Kaohsiung City will take up the redistricting plan fleshed out through previous consensus; Taipei County will apply the blueprint initiated by the opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union （TSU） ; Taoyuan County will embrace the ruling Democratic Progressive Partys proposal; and Pingtung County will adopt the version agreed upon by the main opposition Kuomintang （KMT）, the People First Party （PFP） , the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union （NPSU） and the TSU.
The southern port city of Kaohsiung, which is the countrys second largest city after Taipei, will be divided into five electoral constituencies, according to the new districting scheme.
Taipei County, the countys most populous administrative region, will be divided into 12 constituencies according to the TSU-drafted blueprint.
The northern county of Taoyuan will be subdivided into six constituencies according to the DPP-initiated plan, while the southernmost county of Pingtung will be divided into three constituencies based on the proposal agreed upon by the KMT, the PFP, the NPSU and the TSU.
Meanwhile, the central counties of Taichung and Changhua will be divided into five and four constituencies, respectively; and Tainan County and Taichung City will have three constituencies each.
Tainan City and the southern counties of Kaohsiung, Yunlin, Chiayi, Nantou and Miaoli will each have two constituencies, while the remaining seven counties －－ Yilan, Hsinchu, Hualien, Taitung, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu －－ and three cities, namely Hsinchu, Keelung and Chiayi, will each have one constituency. （By Sofia Wu）