The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) formed a nomination review task force yesterday to nominate candidates for local council speaker and vice speaker positions in the five special municipalities.
The mayoral elections for the five special municipalities — Taipei City, Sinbei City (the new name for Taipei County after its upgrade on Dec. 25), Greater Taichung, Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung (which will also be officially established on Dec. 25) — took place on Nov. 27. The five cities will elect council heads on Dec. 25 when elected mayors and city councilors are formally sworn in.
KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said he will head the task force, whose members included KMT Vice Chairman Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) and local party branch directors.
King said the task force will solicit advice from local branches and select candidates “through a fair and open nomination mechanism” in about two weeks.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), meanwhile, will select its candidates on Dec. 14.
As the KMT’s share of the overall popular vote fell in the elections, party members are concerned that losing the right to nominate the heads of the city council could make it difficult for the party to sustain support at the grassroots level.
The KMT won three of the five mayoral seats in the special municipality elections, but garnered only 3.4 million, or 44.5 percent, of all the votes cast. The DPP, on the other hand, received 3.8 million votes, or 49.9 percent, of the total.
Some political observers have said that the KMT should be able to retain control of the council in Taipei City and Greater Taichung, while the DPP enjoyed a clear advantage in Greater Tainan, with a much larger number of pan-green city councilors.
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