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Voting in elections of chief executive starts in Taiwan

This year, 19.5 million of Taiwan's 23.4 million residents over the age of 20 are eligible to vote

HONG KONG, January 13. /TASS/. Voting in elections of Taiwan's chief executive and members of the Legislative Yuan (the island's highest unicameral legislature) has begun on the island.

The election commission said polling stations opened at 08:00 a.m. local time (00:00 GMT).

This year, 19.5 million of Taiwan's 23.4 million residents over the age of 20 are eligible to vote. They will receive three ballots: to elect the head of the administration and his deputy, to vote for candidates for parliamentary deputies in the territorial constituency, and to vote on party lists. The results are expected to be announced in the evening. The winner is determined by a simple majority of votes, there is no second round.

Voting will last eight hours. Polling stations will close at 04:00 p.m. local time (08:00 a.m. GMT). According to current legislation, polls 10 days before elections and exit polls after voting are prohibited.

Three candidates, who are to compete for the post of chief executive are 64-year-old Lai Ching-te from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, 66-year-old Hou Yu-ih from the opposition Kuomintang party and 64-year-old Ko Wen-je from the centrist Taiwan People's Party. Lai Ching-te is considered the favorite in the election race.

Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the remaining Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after suffering a defeat in China’s civil war. Since then, Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed in mainland China before the Communists came to power. Beijing regards the island as one of its provinces.

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