Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party gains ground on Kuomintang ahead of local polls

Three years before the proindependence Democratic Progressive Party candidate Chen Shui-bian won Taiwan's presidency in 2000, the main opposition party swept 12 out of 23 mayoral and magistrate seats in the 1997 local election.

Even though the Kuomintang later recouped its lost ground, including the presidency, the DPP has been licking its wounds and making a comeback in recent years. It even won more popular votes than the KMT in 2010's municipal elections.

This November, the island is holding another local election, which has been described by officials as the biggest ever because it will include municipalities, smaller cities and village councils.

Beijing had noted the rising momentum of the DPP, said Arthur Ding, a professor from National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

Analysts said the ruling Kuomintang, which Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou chairs, could lose the mayor's office in Taichung, the party's long-time stronghold in central Taiwan.

Recent polls by National Chengchi University indicate the KMT does not have a clear edge over its rival, with its overall support falling to 55 per cent.

"It's very unusual since the democratisation of the island," said Wu Jau-shieh, researcher at the university's Institute of International Relations. "Since last year, the DPP has become more popular among the voters [according to our polls]."