Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) looks set to represent the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in November's Greater Kaohsiung elections after her big win in the party's polls yesterday.
Internal party polls released by the DPP showed Chen currently enjoys 59 percent support among Kaohsiung area voters, compared with 41 percent for Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興).
Both had been vying for the DPP's nomination in the soon-to-be merged municipality for the year-end special municipality elections, a key race seen as a precursor to the 2012 presidential elections.
In announcing the results, DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) commended Yang for his achievements in Kaohsiung County and said the party “hoped Yang would continue to work hard for the DPP and for Taiwan.”
The DPP nomination team is set to deliver a formal recommendation for Chen to its Central Executive Committee, which will formally announce its candidates for the five special municipality elections on May 19.
Chen yesterday thanked voters for their support and said she would take into account many of the political ideas that Yang had brought up during the campaign.
However, she remained mum on whether she would invite Yang to join her election team as deputy mayor, saying she had yet to come to a decision.
Chen and Yang were involved in a bitter row over the past month, with each accusing the other of defamation after a set of damaging advertisements were found in Kaohsiung area newspapers.
Sources said DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) traveled to Kaohsiung County yesterday in an attempt to work out a compromise between the two candidates.
However, Yang said in a statement shortly after the poll results that he had no plans to continue on as a deputy mayor under Chen, adding that he would take a short break after completing his current term.
Apologizing to his supporters, Yang said he accepted the poll results and pledged support for Chen's election bid.
While the party's candidates for Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Tainan (the merged Tainan City and Tainan County) are selected through telephone polls, candidates for Taipei, Sinbei (as Taipei County will be known after its upgrading) and Greater Taichung (the merged Taichung City and Taichung County) will be chosen by the DPP's nomination team.
Polls for the Tainan candidate will take place today and tomorrow, with the results expected to be released on Saturday. Tainan City Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) and DPP Legislator William Lai (賴清德) are widely seen as the front-runners in the race.
In other developments, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), the son of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), has decided to run as an independent candidate in Kaohsiung City's city councilor election in November, an aide said yesterday.
“He made the decision as many supporters of the former president hope that he can continue pushing his father's political ideals,” said Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘), a spokesman for the Chen family.
Chen Chih-chung cannot represent the DPP under the party's nomination rules because he was convicted in connection with his father's corruption case, Chiang said.
Chen Chih-chung was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison on money-laundering convictions last year, in a high-profile case that saw both of his parents receive life sentences.
The Chen family is currently appealing against the rulings at the High Court, which is expected to deliver its verdict on June 11.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP
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