The 2006 Democratic Progressive Party chairmanship by-election was held on January 15, 2006 in
Taiwan. It was the tenth chairmanship election conducted by the party. In December 2005, chairperson
Su Tseng-chang resigned as a result of failing to win ten of the twenty-three positions in the
2005 local elections.
Candidates
There were many hopefuls that publicly expressed their desire for the chairmanship. These politicians withdrew after acting chairperson
Annette Lu withdrew her campaign. Only three candidates formally announced their bids for chairperson:
*
Chai Trong-rong, former
president of the WUFI, former legislator, and former chairperson of
Formosa Television, was the first to register candidacy.
[Chiu Yu-Tzu]
DDP chairmanship race slowly beginning to heat up
', Taipei Times, 12/10/2005'' He was supported by the Welfare State Alliance, which was led by
Frank Hsieh, along with foreign minister
Mark Chen
Mark Tang-shan/Tan-sun Chen (), born September 16, 1935, in Tainan Prefecture (now part of Tainan City), Taiwan, is a Taiwanese politician, former Secretary-General of the Office of the President of Taiwan under former President Chen Shui-bian. ...
and vice president
Annette Lu.
[Huang, Jewel]
"Power struggle heating up in election for DPP chair"
', Taipei Times, 12/28/2005''
*
Yu Shyi-kun, former
Presidential Office secretary-general, former magistrate of
Yilan County, and former
premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
, officially launched his campaign on December 18. He was endorsed by the Justice Alliance, which included President
Chen Shui-bian.
*
Wong Chin-chu, former legislator and former magistrate of
Changhua County, was the last to register. Wong Chin-chu, who left the New Tide faction, was not supported by any of the factions, but was endorsed by former chairperson
Lin Yi-hsiung.
Results
Yu won the race with over 54% of the votes. However, the
voter turnout was only 19.96%,
YU SHYI-KUN WINS DPP CHAIR ELECTION
'', DPP official English site, 1/16/2006'' the lowest turnout in the party's history. This was significantly different from the 2005 Kuomintang election, which had a voter turnout of 50.17%.
It is commonly believed that Yu's successful campaign symbolized the fact that President Chen Shui-bian's Justice Alliance was still in power within the party. After Su Tseng-chang, also a member of the Justice Alliance, was appointed the premier, his term was relatively more stable as a result of the mutual cooperation between the three leaders.
On the other hand, former chairperson Lin Yi-hsiung left the party as a result of the loss of Wong Chin-chu.
See also
* 2005 Kuomintang chairmanship election
The 2005 Kuomintang chairmanship election () was held on July 16, 2005 in Taiwan between Ma Ying-jeou and Wang Jin-pyng. The election was triggered by the retirement of chairman Lien Chan.
This was the second direct election of the chairman in Ku ...
References
{{Democratic Progressive Party Chairmanship Elections
2006 elections in Taiwan
Democratic Progressive Party chairmanship elections
Democratic Progressive Party chairmanship election