Numerous Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have said they favor Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) as the party’s candidate for the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election, after Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was recalled in a vote on Saturday.
DPP legislators Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) and Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) said that based on his popularity in Kaohsiung and strong grassroots support, Chen, a Kaohsiung native with a solid administrative background, would be an ideal candidate to represent the party in the election.
Kuan and Hsu said that the party should name Chen as the party’s candidate without holding a primary to show party unity.
Han was ousted through a recall election in which 939,090 Kaohsiung residents voted for his removal, well exceeding the required 574,996, a legal threshold representing 25 percent of Kaohsiung’s eligible voters, with a turnout of 42.14 percent.
Under the Civil Servant Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), the Central Election Commission must hold a by-election by Sept. 12 at the latest.
Chen, who served as a three-term legislator from the southern city before 2004, was a two-term legislator-at-large before the mayoral election in November 2018, when he lost in a shocking defeat to Han, in a city the DPP had run for two decades.
After his mayoral defeat, Chen was appointed vice premier in January last year.
In response to Han’s recall, Chen said that politicians must retain the trust of the electorate or the voters would take back the power they give them.
He did not say whether he plans to represent the party in the by-election.
Chen said that the recall demonstrated the value of democracy, as voters made an important decision for themselves.
DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said that he supports Chen’s candidacy, adding that as the head of the DPP’s Kaohsiung branch, he would mobilize everyone to campaign for the vice premier in the upcoming by-election.
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that the party should avoid provoking Han supporters after the recall vote, otherwise the KMT could boycott DPP-proposed legislation and undermine cross-party cooperation.
New Power Party (NPP) Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said that his party would support a non-KMT candidate in the election, and if Chen represents the DPP he would likely win the NPP’s support.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is also Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman, yesterday said that his party does not have any plan to nominate a candidate for the by-election.
“It is the first time in Taiwan’s political history that a city mayor has been recalled, and facing such a peculiar event, people should calm down to think about its impact on Taiwanese society,” he said.
Ko said that he respects the decision to hold a recall, as it reflects Taiwan’s mature democratic process, he said.
The TPP might have a chance of winning if it runs a candidate for Kaohsiung city councilor, but it has little chance of winning in the city’s mayoral by-election, he said.
Sources from the KMT said they were pessimistic about the by-election after Han’s ouster, adding that the party has not yet decided on a candidate for the vote.
Additional reporting by Lee I-chia
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