There are less than three months left until Taiwan's once-every-four-year unified local elections, which will be counted on November 28th. The ruling Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat in the last election, with only five of the 22 prefectural mayoral races winning the election, and is aiming to bounce back. This is the first major election for the Seinori Lai administration, which was inaugurated in 2024, and will provide an interim evaluation for the next presidential election in 2028. Candidate registration deadline is the 4th of this month, and the election campaign is already heating up.
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New Taipei City in the north is a suburban city that surrounds Taipei City in a donut shape, and has the largest population in Taiwan with a population of approximately 4 million. Including the time when it was called Taipei County, the main opposition party, the Kuomintang, had monopolized the post of leader for more than 20 years. This time, as the term of office of Mayor Hou Youyi (69) expires, both the Democratic Progressive Party and the National Party have put forward strong candidates.
Democratic Progressive Party candidate Su Chianghui (50) is a lawyer who became a locally elected legislative committee member (member of the National Assembly), and his father is Su Ting-chang, who served as the head of the Executive Yuan (prime minister) and the former mayor of Taipei County. Former President Tsai Ing-wen, who is popular among independents, will serve as campaign chief.
"Let's open up a new era together!" Mr. Su held a rally in a plaza in New Taipei City's Banqiao District on the 5th and made this call. In addition to Ms. Tsai, President Lai also rushed to support Ms. Su, saying, ``She is inheriting (her father's) boldness. Let's send her in as the first female mayor.'' Organizers announced that more than 20,000 people had gathered, and office worker Zhang Shijie, 50, said, ``New Taipei City has had a KMT mayor for a long time, and he should be replaced.I support Mr. Su, who is also young.''
On the other hand, Mr. Li Sichuan (68) of the Kuomintang Party, who aims to succeed the current mayor who maintains high approval ratings, is a former technical civil servant in Taipei City and a practical person who has served as vice mayor in Taipei, New Taipei, and Kaohsiung. On the 2nd of this month, Mr. Li held a policy briefing session in New Taipei City's Xintian District, where he promised to improve the transportation network and appealed to ``dedicate ourselves to the citizens.''
According to the results of various opinion polls, both candidates are in a close race. A 68-year-old housewife who supports the Nationalist Party and attended the briefing session was enthusiastic, saying, ``The two candidates have a 50-50 approval rating.We will do our best to push (Mr. Lee) up.''
Of the 22 prefectures and cities, both the Democratic Party and the People's Democratic Party are fielding candidates in 19 of them. In the previous unified local elections held in 2022, the Kuomintang won 14 prefectures and cities, but the defeated Democratic Progressive Party's then-President Tsai resigned as party president. If the Democratic Party performs poorly in this election as well, Yori, who is at the helm of the party, could be held responsible.
Professor Fan Shiping of Taiwan Normal University analyzes that Democratic Progressive Party candidates have a chance of winning at least the mayoral elections in 10 prefectures, including New Taipei City, due to the strong economy. ``If the Democratic Progressive Party wins New Taipei City, which has a large voting base, it will give President Lai a great boost in his reelection bid,'' he said.
