Saturday, December 28, 2013

DPP to use poll as Greater Taichung party primary

By Chris Wang  /  Staff reporter

A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) opinion poll in Greater Taichung on Monday is to determine the party’s candidate for arguably one of the most important constituencies in the mayoral and commissioner elections scheduled for December next year.

The poll will serve as the party primary to determine whether incumbent DPP Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) or DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) will be the party’s candidate, with poll results to be announced on Tuesday.

Both aspirants have close connections with the constituency. Lin, 49, withdrew from the party primary in the 2010 Taichung mayoral election and made way for former DPP secretary-general Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全).

However, he has made his intention to run in the Taichung election clear and has been consolidating local support since he began his campaign.

Tsai, 44, did not enter the race until Su announced that he did not have the intention did run.

Tsai has been endorsed by from party heavyweights such as Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) and Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊).

While the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has yet to determine its candidate, incumbent Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), who has governed the city since 2001, is seen as the likely choice.

Taichung has been viewed as a potential key battleground for both parties in their bids to claim victory in the elections.

In a United Daily News Group poll conducted last week, Lin had a 24 percent to 46 percent lead over Tsai in the DPP primary.

According to the poll, Lin received support from 42 percent of the respondents, six percentage points higher than Hu’s 36 percent, and between Tsai and Hu, 45 percent supported Hu, while 33 percent favored Tsai.