Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) political figures yesterday made last-ditch efforts to canvass support for their respective candidates on the eve of today’s three-in-one local elections.
Voters will elect mayors and county commissioners as well as city and county councilors and township chiefs in 17 cities and counties.
This will be the first major election since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May last year and is seen by many as a mid-term test of his administration.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Ma, who also serves as KMT chairman, traveled to Yilan County last night with other senior KMT party members in hopes of securing the county in today’s vote.
Yesterday’s visit marked Ma’s 10th trip to Yilan County since October to campaign for incumbent commissioner Lu Kuo-hua (呂國華) of the KMT.
The KMT won the county — a pan-green stronghold that had been under the DPP’s governance for 24 years — in the three-in-one-elections four years ago. However, the DPP continues to enjoy strong support in the county, leading Ma to make frequent visits there.
PHOTO: YANG YI-MIN, TAIPEI TIMES
Lu, quoted by local media on Thursday as saying Ma’s campaigning efforts were not enough to help him win, said that he had been “joking” with the press.
“I was just joking. President Ma paid great attention to the election in Yilan County, and of course his campaigning is helping,” he said.
Ma yesterday declined to comment on Lu’s remarks when canvassing the streets with him, and said the party would spare no effort to campaign for him.
The tensions between the two camps in Yilan County prompted many Yilan natives to return home to cast their votes, and roads through Hsuehshan Tunnel leading to the county were packed from early yesterday afternoon.
KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) said yesterday that the party was confident it would secure at least 11 cities and counties in today’s election, and would have to fight hard to win in six cities and counties, including Hsinchu, Yilan and Chiayi Counties.
The KMT estimated that the overall turnout of today’s election would be between 60 percent and 70 percent, and the election in Chiayi County would be determined by about 3,000 votes.
In addition to the traditional DPP strongholds of Yunlin, Chiayi and Pingtung counties, the KMT also faced tough battles in Hsinchu and Hualien counties because of pan-blue splits.
“The nomination process in Hsinchu and Hualien counties was challenging for us, but we spent a lot of time campaigning in the counties and we remain positive about the election outcome,” Chan said yesterday at KMT headquarters.
KMT Hualien County commissioner candidate Tu Li-hua (杜麗華) faced challenges from independent candidate Chang Chi-ming (張志明), who left the party to run in the election and received an endorsement from Hualien County Commissioner Hsieh Shen-san (謝深山).
In Hsinchu, KMT nominee Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳) also faced competition from independent candidate Chang Pi-chin (張碧琴), who had the support of incumbent commissioner Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金).
Ma accompanied Tu to canvass for support yesterday morning, and attended the groundbreaking ceremony for construction to electrify the Hualien-Taitung railway line.
Shrugging off criticism that the KMT used the construction to win votes in Hualien, Ma said he had promised to build better public transportation for the people in eastern Taiwan.
Meanwhile, a full line-up of senior DPP members hit the campaign trail yesterday to give pan-green candidates one last push before today’s election.
Under the rallying cry “Pan-green Governance, Quality Guaranteed,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) spent election eve canvassing the streets of Chiayi, Hsinchu and Yilan — the three tightest races in the election.
Accusing the KMT of buying its way to leadership positions, Tsai urged voters to protect Taiwan by rejecting all forms of corruption and asked prosecutors to step up efforts to catch dishonest candidates.
Braving 10°C winds, Tsai and DPP Chiayi County commissioner nominee Chang Hwa-kun (張花冠) shook hands with passersby.
“Many have told me that the KMT have saturated the area with vote-buying. The voters must root out this evil practice by voting against the KMT,” she said.
Chang quit her legislative position earlier this week to demonstrate her determination to win the race. But her KMT opponent Wong Chung-chu (翁重鈞), who is heading the poll, said her decision was a dirty trick.
At a rally last night attended by several thousand people, the wife of incumbent DPP Commissioner Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) tearfully beseeched voters on bended knees to support Chang and said her husband was a victim of KMT smear tactics.
Playing the same sympathy card, the DPP’s hopeful in Yilan County, Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢), had the wife of former DPP commissioner Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) stump for him, hoping to piggyback on Chen’s reputation for fighting corruption before his death three years ago.
Lin’s daughter also cried in front of supporters, accusing the KMT of slandering her father by calling him a womanizer during the campaign.
Tsai then veered northward to Hsinchu County in the afternoon where DPP candidate Peng Shao-jin (彭紹瑾) is lagging behind the KMT’s Chiu Chin-chun (邱鏡淳) and independent Chang Pi-chin (張碧琴), a former KMT member. The party is hoping the two-way pan-blue split will help Peng win.
Tsai said that if either of the other two won, “Hsinchu will never see a day of harmony” because the pan-blue internal battle will continue.
Also speaking in Hsinchu, former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) rebutted the rumor that his camp plans to throw its weight behind Chang, and encouraged voters to make this a historic race by snatching a KMT stronghold.
In Yilan County, former county commissioner Yu Shy-kun (游錫錕) jumped on the motorcade with Lin at dawn to seek support.
Yilan has been hotly contested, with both camps viewing the county as a critical indicator of their clout. Ma and Tsai both chose Yilan as their final stop before all campaign activities were required to end by 10pm.
“In the last four years [of KMT governance], Yilan has lost its past glories. Agricultural production went down while unemployment went up. We must tell Ma through our votes that enough is enough,” Yu said.
Appealing to the younger crowd, Lin’s campaign invited pro-independent singer Dog G (大支) and heavy metal singer Freddy Lim (林昶佐) to call on young voters to come home and vote.
Led by Tsai, throngs of pan-green supporters waving the DPP flags took to the streets last night in support of Lin.
The DPP also made a last-minute effort in cyberspace. Several DPP leaders such as Kaoshiung City Councilor Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟), Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), the director of the DPP’s international affairs division, and Yu were busy rallying netizen’s votes online.
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) stayed in her hometown in Taoyuan County to root for former DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) while former Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) spent most of the day in Pingtung County to campaign for the DPP’s Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻).
Central Election Commission Secretary-General Teng Tien-yu (鄧天祐) yesterday reminded voters that voting hours today are from 8am to 5pm and reminded all voters to bring their national ID cards, personal seals and voting notice.
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin
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