Polls for local chiefs and councilors take place today to elect 319 local chiefs and 879 county and city councilors.
The elections for local chiefs may be the last of their kind to be held because the Ministry of the Interior has proposed terminating the polls in 2006 and appointing local chiefs and councilors in a bid to save public resources.
PHOTO: CHANG HSUN-TENG, TAIPEI TIMES
There are a total of 2,939 candidates registered for the elections, which include 852 candidates running for village, township and city heads and 1,992 candidates running for the county and city councilor seats.
The ruling DPP has nominated a total of 432 candidates for the elections, 166 of whom are local chiefs and 266 of whom are vying for councilor positions.
The KMT has nominated 324 candidates to run in the local head elections and 637 candidates to run in the county and city councilor elections.
The People First Party (PFP) has nominated 27 candidates to run in the elections for local heads and 267 candidates to run in the county and city councilor elections.
The newly-formed Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) nominated only two candidates for local chief positions and 39 candidates for the city and county councilor elections.
Political analysts predict that the KMT, which has long dominated local elections and developed a strong local voting system, might perform well in today's polls though the DPP might increase a substantial number of seats.
The KMT is estimated to win 175 out of the 319 seats for local chiefs and 400 out of the 879 seats in the city and county councilor elections.
Hsu Yang-ming (許陽明), deputy secretary-general of the DPP, said that the DPP hopes to see a 10 to 20 percent increase in the number of seats in the two elections.
The PFP said that it will do its best to have all of its candidates elected in the two elections.
The goal of the TSU is to see at least half of its candidates elected, according to Hsiao Kuan-yu (蕭貫譽), director of the TSU's public relations department.
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