Candidates seeking to run in any of the nine local elections on Nov. 24 can register their candidacy today, the first day of a five-day registration period, according to an election schedule announced by the Central Election Commission, the Central News Agency reported yesterday.
Registrations are open from today through Friday, before a draw on Oct. 19 to determine each candidate’s number to use in the nine-in-one elections, in which mayors, county commissioners, city and county council members, township mayors and council members, as well as local officials down to the neighborhood level, are to be elected nationwide, the commission said.
A total of 11,047 public officials are to be elected on Nov. 24, including 22 mayors, 912 councilors, 204 township mayors, 2,149 township council members, and 7,760 heads of villages and boroughs, it said.
In conjunction with the local elections, referendums on several issues will also be held, in which Republic of China citizens aged 18 or older will be eligible to cast ballots.
The commission estimated that 582,718 people in the 18-to-20 age group would be eligible first-time voters, but could only cast referendum votes, not votes for public officials.
The commission said it expects an estimated 3,979,099 first-time voters who would be allowed to vote in both categories.
There would be 19,208,490 people aged 20 or older who could legally vote in the nine-in-one elections, which is 869,066 more than the 2016 presidential election, the commission said.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
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