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Pan-blues maintain their dominance in councils, townships

City and county council election results indicate that the pan-blue camp -- the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) -- won a majority of seats, obtaining around 47 percent of a total 901 seats.

The pan-green camp -- the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) -- followed closely behind with 24 percent of the seats.

Final figures were unavailable as of press time, but independent candidates took as many as 256 seats.

Historically, local councilor elections have always returned a pan-blue majority. In the city and county councilor elections of 2001, for example, the pan-blue camp took 49 percent of seats, while the pan-greens took 17 percent.

In 1998, 52 percent of seats went to pan-blue candidates, while 16 percent were won by pan-green candidates.

Township election results were also returning a pan-blue majority. At press time, the percentage of pan-blue chiefs elected in the 319 townships stood at 55 percent, while the pan-green camp had around 11 percent.

In the last township chief elections in 2001, pan-blue chiefs secured 62 percent nationwide, while the pan-greens took only 9 percent.

Although the pan-green camp has been in office for six years, the local election results indicate that the DPP still has much work to do in cultivating local political talent and developing methods of voter mobilization at the township level.

Local council and township chief elections are dominated by local factional politics which have little relation to the national scene.

Another point of interest in the township chief elections were the six Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) candidates.

Spread from Tamsui (淡水) to remote Lanyu (蘭嶼, Orchid Island) off the coast of Taitung, the six failed to make a mark in the face of the KMT juggernaut.
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