Countdown starts in earnest to Taiwan’s bellwether local government elections
- 22 mayoral and magistrate posts to be contested, with potential threats for both major parties
- Despite cross-strait tensions, bread-and-butter issues expected to dominate the campaigns, analyst says
People hoping to run for mayor, magistrate, councillor and various other local government positions in the November 26 “nine-in-one elections” have until Friday to register and will be notified before October 14 of their right to run, according to the Central Election Commission.
About 19.3 million of the island’s 23.5 million people are eligible to cast their ballots this time, commission officials said on Tuesday.
Of the eligible voters, 760,000 are first-time voters.
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In all, 22 mayoral and magistrate posts will be contested, with both the main opposition Kuomintang and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) each nominating 21 candidates for those races and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the New Power Party each nominating three.