TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Kuomintang (KMT) had their candidates register for the Aug. 15 mayoral by-election in Kaohsiung Wednesday (June 24), while the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presented a member of another party as its last-minute candidate.

The by-election was called after incumbent KMT Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) lost a June 6 recall vote by a wide margin. The winning candidate will serve out the remainder of Han's term until Dec. 25, 2022.

The ruling party has nominated Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), who lost to Han in the November 2018 mayoral election, leading to the end of 20 years of DPP rule in the city. After his defeat, he was appointed vice premier, a post in which he served until the current campaign started.

On the KMT side, the search for a suitable candidate covered several female members of the Kaohsiung City Council, ending with the choice of Jane Lee (李眉蓁), 41, on Tuesday (June 23). The announcement in effect dashed the hopes of the TPP, headed by Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), for a joint candidate to oppose Chen.

Just hours before registration opened, the TPP named Wu Yi-cheng (吳益政), 57, who has been a Kaohsiung city councilor for 18 years, as its mayoral candidate. Surprisingly, while Wu agreed to run on behalf of the TPP, he will hold on to his People First Party (PFP) membership, CNA reported.

The two political groups have also cooperated in Taipei City, where Ko appointed a key member of the PFP as his deputy.