About this election
Taiwan holds its local elections — popularly known as the "nine-in-one" elections because nine categories of local office are filled on a single day — on 28 November 2026. Voters across the island choose the mayors and magistrates of its six special municipalities and sixteen counties and cities, together with city and county councillors, township and district chiefs and councillors, and village heads. Though local in form, these elections are watched closely as a barometer of national politics roughly two years before the next presidential and legislative contests, and as a test of President Lai Ching-te's Democratic Progressive Party against the Kuomintang and the smaller Taiwan People's Party.
The mayors and magistrates who lead Taiwan's cities and counties are elected by first-past-the-post for four-year terms, while councillors are elected from multi-member districts. The six special municipalities — Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — contain a majority of Taiwan's population and are the most coveted prizes, functioning as springboards for national leadership: several presidents and party leaders rose through these mayoralties. Because the elections are held at the midpoint of the presidential term, they are routinely interpreted as a referendum on the national government's performance, even though local issues, candidate quality and local factional networks often decide individual races.
Taiwan's politics is organised around two camps defined largely by their approach to mainland China. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which holds the presidency under Lai Ching-te, emphasises Taiwan's separate identity and is wary of Beijing. The Kuomintang (KMT), now led by Cheng Li-wun, favours warmer cross-strait ties and is traditionally stronger in local government. The Taiwan People's Party (TPP), a newer centrist force founded by former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, has tried to break the two-party mould and has at times discussed cooperation with the KMT. Cross-strait relations, economic security and the threat of pressure from China loom over every Taiwanese election, even local ones.
The 2022 local elections were a setback for the DPP, then led by President Tsai Ing-wen, who resigned as party chair after the result. The KMT won the most top posts.
| Party (2022, mayors/magistrates) | Posts won |
| Kuomintang (KMT) | 14 |
| Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) | 5 |
| Taiwan People's Party (TPP) | 2 |
| Independent | 1 |
The KMT held or captured key cities including Taipei, New Taipei and Taichung; the TPP won Hsinchu City and Kinmen County; and an independent took Miaoli. The DPP's strength was concentrated in its southern strongholds such as Tainan and Kaohsiung.
The central questions are whether the DPP can recover ground after its 2022 defeat and hold the southern cities, whether the KMT can sustain its local dominance, and whether the TPP can expand beyond a handful of seats and confirm itself as a lasting third force — including whether the KMT and TPP cooperate in key races. The result will be read for clues about the 2028 presidential election and about public attitudes toward the cross-strait policies of the Lai administration.
Taiwan's electoral geography has a clear north-south tilt: the KMT is traditionally stronger in the north and in some rural and offshore areas, while the DPP dominates the south, especially Tainan and Kaohsiung. The big swing battlegrounds are the populous municipalities of the north and centre — Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan and Taichung. ElectioMap will map the mayoral and magisterial results across all 22 cities and counties as they are declared.
This page will show the live results for the mayoral and magisterial races across Taiwan's cities and counties, with a map, as counting proceeds on 28 November 2026. Figures are sourced from Taiwan's Central Election Commission, which administers and certifies the vote.
They are held on 28 November 2026. Known as the "nine-in-one" elections, they fill nine categories of local office — including the mayors and magistrates of Taiwan's six special municipalities and sixteen counties and cities, plus councillors and local chiefs — on a single day.
Held at the midpoint of the presidential term, the local elections are read as a barometer of national politics ahead of the 2028 presidential and legislative votes, and as a test of President Lai Ching-te's DPP against the KMT and the smaller TPP.
By first-past-the-post for four-year terms. The six special municipalities — Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — hold most of the population and serve as springboards to national leadership.
The KMT won 14 of the city and county top posts, the DPP 5, the TPP 2 (Hsinchu City and Kinmen) and an independent 1 (Miaoli). The result prompted President Tsai Ing-wen to resign as DPP chair.
Taiwan counts ballots by hand quickly, and results are usually known the same evening. Live mayoral and magisterial results, with a map, will appear on this page as counting proceeds, sourced from the Central Election Commission.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.