The positions of 16 county and city heads are also on the ballots, as well as councillors and officials with various grass-roots organisations, including townships, villages and boroughs.
Polling stations opened at 8am and will stay open until 4pm. Early returns are expected by 7pm, according to the Central Election Commission.
After casting their ballots, the heads of the island’s political parties, including Tsai of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, Eric Chu Li-luan of the main opposition Kuomintang, and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party urged all eligible people to vote.
Election officials have been watching the weather, which has been rainy the past few days and could affect voter turnout.
“Even if the rain factor is discounted, Saturday’s voter turnout is bound to be low compared with the 75 per cent recorded in the 2020 presidential election,” said Wang Kung-yi, head of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, a Taipei-based think tank. That voter turnout was the biggest in Taiwan since 2008.
The 2020 election saw Tsai capture a second four-year term with more than 8.1 million votes – another record for the island.
Wang said that instead of concentrating on public policies and ways to improve local well-being, the local elections had been marred by mudslinging and finger-pointing, with candidates and their parties accusing each other of either lacking integrity or bribery.
“Honestly speaking, many voters have no idea what the political views of the candidates are. They are simply choosing either the candidates or the parties they favour,” he said.
The election campaign had turned into a patriotism race in the latter stages after Tsai defined the polls as a way of standing up to Beijing and safeguarding Taiwan’s democracy, Wang said.
In a campaign video message on Thursday, Tsai called the weekend vote a referendum on her leadership, sayiing a vote for DPP candidates was a vote for her and her commitment to “take good care” of Taiwan.
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All DPP candidates nominated to run for mayors and magistrates in the 21 cities and counties had pledged during their campaigns to counter Beijing. They had also signed a letter of intent that they would not surrender to Beijing in the event of a cross-strait war.
Beijing is paying particular attention to the constitutional amendment referendum, which it views as the DPP’s attempt to move towards independence.
“The so-called 18-year-old civil rights referendum is a ploy by the DPP authorities, aiming to amend the constitution to pave the way for their separatist attempt,” Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang said in Beijing last month.
Titled the “Constitution of the Republic of China” – Taiwan’s formal name for itself – the document contains a significant “one China” component, as it regards both the island and the Chinese mainland as a part of China.
Beijing’s one-China principle also states Taiwan is an inalienable part of its territory, to be eventually reunited with the motherland.
