The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is expected to see fierce competition today as senior politicians vie for seats in the party’s top decisionmaking body.
The party is holding its national congress today, in which 567 party representatives are to elect 30 members of the DPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), who will then choose 10 members to make up the Central Standing Committee (CSC).
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is an ex officio member of both of the committees.
There are other ex officio members in both committees, including top party leaders, caucus whips, city mayors and county commissioners.
According to the party, 46 people have registered for the CEC election.
Subgroups within the party led by Tsai, former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃), former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and members of the former New Tide faction (新潮流) — one of the most powerful groups until the party banned factions — are aiming to secure two seats in the CSC, party sources said yesterday.
Former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) are not running in the CEC race.
Sources said that former party secretary-general Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) — both deemed to be close to Tsai — are expected to be elected to the CSC with a high number of votes.
Su Jia-chyuan could split votes from the group led by Yu, thus endangering the chances of DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) being elected to the CEC, sources said.
Su Jia-chyuan, who represented the party in the 2010 Greater Taichung mayoral election, might gain a majority of votes among party representatives based in the city, they said.
The group led by Su Tseng-chang and another former faction, the Green Friendship Alliance (綠色友誼連線) — led by DPP Central Review Committee Chairman Chen Sheng-hung (陳勝宏) — are expected to win one seat each in the CSC.
Tsai Hsien-hao (蔡憲浩), a long-term confidant of Su Tseng-chang’s, is expected to be re-elected to the CSC.
The congress is also to elect 11 members to the Central Review Committee.
Greater Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) is expected to be elected Central Review Committee chairman.
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