Campaigns for county, city elections to begin

According to an election bulletin issued by the Central Election Commission (CEC) earlier in the day, 54 candidates will vie for the offices of mayor or magistrate in 17 of Taiwan's 25 cities and counties in the elections scheduled for Dec. 5.

Another 938 candidates will compete for the offices of township chiefs, and city and county councilors in the 17 cities and counties.

Seven other cities and counties — Taipei County, Taichung City and County, Tainan City and County, Kaohsiung City and County-will be upgraded or merged into municipalities and hold elections for local leaders along with Taipei City next year.

A by-election for a vacant legislative seat representing the Nantou County constituency in the central county of Taiwan will also be held on Dec. 5. The legislative vacancy was left by former legislator Wu Den-yih, who was named premier by President Ma Ying-jeou in a major Cabinet reshuffle in September.

Election campaign activities will be allowed between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day from Wednesday through Dec. 4, the CEC said.

Meanwhile, according to a draft amendment to the Local Government Law, which was approved by the Cabinet, the tenure of the city and county chiefs to be elected in the Dec. 5 elections will be prolonged for an additional one year and five days to coincide with the elections for heads of the municipalities in 2014. The amendment has yet to pass the legislative floor.

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