KMT faces deadlock over Changhua mayoral nomination

The Kuomintang (KMT) party in Changhua is struggling to nominate a candidate for the city's mayoral election, creating a stalemate between two prominent figures: Chen Wen-bin, chairman of the Changhua City Representative Council, and county councilor Wen Chih-hua.

After three coordination meetings, the county party's nomination committee failed to reach a consensus between the two candidates. Consequently, the nomination authority has been passed to the central party headquarters. Hsiao Ching-tien, the county party chairman, announced that the central party is currently evaluating two potential methods for nomination. The first option involves a telephone poll, while the second mirrors the "county magistrate model," which entails a special direct selection process.

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The central party headquarters is considering two options: a telephone poll or a special selection process similar to the county magistrate nomination.

During the coordination efforts, Chen Wen-bin proposed either an open competition or direct selection by the central party. In contrast, Wen Chih-hua insisted on using a poll to determine the candidate, believing it would identify the strongest contender based on public opinion and ensure grassroots support and party unity. This divergence in preferred nomination methods has created a significant rift.

The county party is cautious about the potential for division, especially given the importance of Changhua City as the most populous area in the county. They aim to leverage the mayoral candidate's influence to boost the campaign of the county magistrate candidate, Wei Ping-cheng. Hsiao Ching-tien emphasized that the final decision would be between Chen and Wen, ruling out any third-party candidate. He also mentioned that the nomination for Yuanlin mayor is nearing completion, with a telephone poll concluding soon.

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There is no room for a third person; it will be one of them (Chen Wen-bin, Wen Chih-hua).