The Democratic Progressive Party said it had been told that prosecutors would raid the campaign office of its candidate in the Chiayi County magistrate election in connection with a vote-buying probe.

But the DPP described the probe as a KMT plot to smear the candidate, Chang Hua-kuan.

DPP spokeswoman Hsiao Bi-khim said prosecutors had taken actions in the past to smear DPP candidates, who were subsequently proved to be innocent.

“The DPP urges prosecutors and investigators to come down hard on real vote-buying cases,” the spokeswoman said.

“But such KMT plots to manipulate the prosecutors and investigators' authority to smear the DPP — the DPP loathes it and condemns such election tricks,” she added.

The Central News Agency cited prosecutors as saying that four voters in a Chiayi village confessed to taking NT$2,000 each in return for their support for a county magistrate candidate.

CNA did not specify which candidate it was, or whether the case was connected to the DPP's remarks.

But two other persons accused of buying votes on behalf of the candidate denied the charges.

In Pingtung County, the head of Chechen Township's representative body was taken into custody for allegedly bribing fellow members into supporting his bid to become the local government chief.

Chang Hsin-kuei is suspected of giving eight of his colleagues NT$10,000 each, asking them to help him win the township's top administrative post.

Most areas in Taiwan will elect their local government chiefs and parliamentary bodies on Dec. 5.

President Ma Ying-jeou, in his capacity as the KMT chairman, yesterday attended the campaign rallies of Chiu Ching-chun, the party's candidate for Hsinchu County magistrate in the Dec. 5 election.

Ma has been touring counties and cities around the island to campaign for KMT candidates, having visited Pingtung in the south, Yunlin in central Taiwan and Yilan in the northeast in the past week alone.

In Hsinchu, the president joined Chiu's rallies in four townships, hoping to boost Chiu's campaign, which is facing a strong challenge from independent candidate Chang Bi-ching.

Chang, speaker of the Hsinchu County Council, was expelled from the KMT when she entered the magistrate race, putting her up against the party-nominated Chiu.

In Nantou, Premier Wu Den-yih played down suggestions that the upcoming elections could be a mid-term test for the president.

He reiterated that the Ma administration is constantly being tested as the public expects efficiency and integrity.

The premier said Friday that voters would be more concerned about the image, popularity and political record of individual candidates and their campaign efforts in the local elections.

The DPP sees the elections as an opportunity for a comeback from the defeats in the last presidential and legislative elections.

Former Vice President Annette Lu urged voters to support DPP candidates to demonstrate the will of Taiwan people in light of the latest development in U.S.-China relations.

She described a recent U.S-China joint statement as a “terrible” diplomatic defeat for Taiwan.

The DPP said the country is undergoing a crisis as the results of a latest public opinion poll have shown a drastic drop in the people's trust for Ma.

If the KMT continues to rule the nation in an “arrogant” way, the people's trust for Ma will continue crumble, which will be bad for Taiwan, the DPP said.

While the Legislature in the past usually would take a break during major elections to allow lawmakers to help with their parties' campaigns, such a break is unlikely this year.

DPP whip Wang Hsing-nan said campaigning for next month's elections may be important, but there is no need to disrupt the legislative proceedings.

His KMT counterpart Lin Yi-shih also said his party never considered proposing a break for the Dec. 5 race.