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The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday reluctantly handed over its traditional heartland to opposition rival Kuomintang (KMT) after losing the magistrate post in the northeastern county of Ilan.

'Defeat is defeat. I must accept it,' said dejected DPP candidate Chen Ding-nan,  a former justice minister  who was also a two-term Ilan magistrate.

'The people gave their votes to the KMT. This means I have not done enough to win their support.'

With his rich experience and clean image, Mr Chen was confident he would sweep to an easy victory.

Instead, he received 112,800 votes, losing by 8,600 votes to his KMT opponent, Lu Kuo-hua.  Mr Lu is head of the Ilan city government, which comes under the county government.

Analysts said the defeat was expected  because voters  were longing for a change following 24 years of  DPP  rule.

'Many voters have high expectations  regarding a change in the government,' said political analyst Edward Chen I-hsin,  of Tamkang University.

'They want something more than just tourism and fisheries.'

The DPP candidate's campaign was also  troubled by  vote-buying claims,  after some  followers were arrested for allegedly throwing dinners for supporters on behalf of Mr Chen.

Although it was later found  that this was done without  Mr Chen's knowledge,   the controversy still damaged his clean image, Professor Chen said.

The Ilan defeat was a major embarrassment for the DPP, which regards the northeastern county as its 'sacred land of democracy' and traditional stronghold.

'It was too big an insult to the DPP for Lu Kuo-hua,  a local figure relatively unknown to most people, to edge out Chen Ding-nan, dubbed the most integral man from the DPP,' Professor Chen said.

With the loss of Ilan and Taipei county in northern Taiwan, the DPP's  support  is now  mainly centred in the south, with the KMT controlling the north.



Stunned DPP loses traditional stronghold