Top labour job contenders woo Taipei's e-lectorate
First electronic voting exercise - to decide next head of the city's labour department - is part of pledge by mayor-elect for greater accountability
Taiwan's first ever electronic voting exercise got under way yesterday as potential candidates set out their ambitions to become the head of Taipei's labour department.
Ten hopefuls took part in an online live broadcast lasting seven hours in which they were grilled by a selection committee made up of 27 labour affairs experts and union heads.
The online interviews were designed to give the public a greater insight into the candidates before voters who registered with Taipei mayor-elect Ko Wen-je's campaign office make the final decision on Sunday.
The so-called i-voting exercise was part of a pledge by the mayor-elect, who will be inaugurated later this month, to share power with the public and to prevent the government from losing touch with the electorate.
The campaign promise by Ko was credited by many election pundits as a major reason the former surgeon, a political novice, was able to win the post in Taipei, a stronghold of the Kuomintang party for decades.
The 20,000 people who have registered will be able to vote either online or at Ko's campaign office from 8am to 4pm on Sunday. Ko will announce the winner officially on Monday.
Each hopeful was given 10 minutes to talk about his or her ideas for ensuring healthy worker-employer relationships, according to Lee Ying-yuan, secretary general of Ko's campaign office.
