Official campaigning for the upcoming municipal election will start on Friday. That’s the word from the Central Election Commission (CEC) on Thursday. This means that starting from November 14 to 28, candidates can campaign from 7am to 10 pm every day. But starting from November 19, or 10 days before the election, any news coverage of polling numbers will be banned from all media outlets.
The election on November 29 will be the largest in Taiwan’s history. Voters will be selecting candidates to fill nine types of offices ranging from mayors to city councilors. Voters will be able to fill as many as five different offices depending on where they live and whether or not they have aboriginal status. Because of the complexity of this year’s election, polling results might come in later than usual.
The CEC said that local election commissions will be holding open forums for candidates to present their campaign platforms. When these events are televised, a sign language interpreter will be required to take up one third of the screen. The CEC said this mandatory sign language interpretation is also a first in Taiwan’s history.