Six members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have now registered as candidates in the party's primary for the Kaohsiung mayoral election after KMT Legislator Lee Fu-hsing (李復興) submitted his application yesterday.
The others who applied over the past four days are former Kaohsiung City Council speaker Huang Chi-chuan (黃啟川), legislators Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順), Lwo Shih-hsiung (羅世雄) and Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教), and former legislator Su Ying-kuei (蘇盈貴).
The six candidates have each paid a NT$1 million (US$31,000) deposit and provided documents to prove that their candidacy is supported by at least 2,097 KMT members.
Six other KMT members have also declared an intention to run but have not turned in application forms. They include former Kaohsiung deputy mayor Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英), former legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生), former Penghu County commissioner Lai Feng-wei (賴峰偉) and Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅).
Registration for the May 27 party primary ends today.
According to the KMT's regulations, the party's nominations for elections are decided by candidates' public and party support. Support from other KMT members accounts for 30 percent, while support by voters as reflected in opinion polls accounts for the other 70 percent.
The KMT's primary for its Kaohsiung candidate will take place the same day as it's primary for the Taipei mayoral election.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is scheduled to hold its primary election on May 28 to choose its nominee for Kaohsiung mayor.
The DPP's Kaohsiung mayoral primary will be a battle between two women -- former Council of Labor Affairs chairwoman Chen Chu (
Kuan has urged Chen to withdraw from the race, citing a poor record as the nation's highest labor official, which resulted in her having to resign.
Chen's supporters have said that Kuan should finish her term as a legislator instead of trying to switch gears and become Kaohsiung mayor.
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