The Kaohsiung city DPP has announced that it will nominate at least 35 candidates for the local elections in the southern Taiwanese port city. They will also be supporting the reelection of current Mayor Chen Chi-mai.
This move seems at least a bit ambitious as there are currently only 25 DPP councilors in office. This is compared to the KMT which currently holds 31, including controlling the speakership. However, with recent news out of the council including allegations of embezzlement by the former speaker potentially hurting the KMT’s reputation in the city, and councilors like Huang Jie doing their best to fight for their constituents it is possible that the DPP sees more seats won this election cycle.
Determination of specific constituencies is anticipated to be announced tomorrow, giving more insight into the matches we will see in November. If more candidates come out, it is also possible that we will see primary races in some districts as well. Polling for these primaries will begin on May 31st.