Taiwan's most expensive election, how rising costs decide who can even run

On 28 November Taiwan elects its mayors, county chiefs and local councillors. It is the first big vote after the presidential election and counts as a mid term report on the government. The outcome depends not only on political mood but on a question that rarely features in the campaign. Who can still afford to run.

The short version

• On 28 November 2026 nine levels of office are filled at once, across six special municipalities, 13 counties and three provincial cities.
• The state refunds 30 New Taiwan dollars per vote, but only after the election and only above a minimum share.
• Spending ceilings exist, penalties for breaching them do not. Candidates need not report their own money.

What is being decided

The vote is known in Taiwan as the nine in one election because nine levels of office are filled at the same time. In the six special municipalities voters choose mayors, city councils, district heads and the administrators and assemblies of the indigenous mountain districts. In the 13 counties and three provincial cities come county magistrates, county councils, township mayors, township councils and village chiefs.

Three forces are competing. The governing Democratic Progressive Party wants to hold its strongholds. The Kuomintang defends its traditionally strong position in local politics. The smaller People's Party wants to widen its local footprint and is exploring arrangements with the Kuomintang.

How campaigns are financed

Election law provides a refund of 30 New Taiwan dollars for each vote received. The amount may not exceed the spending ceiling set for the constituency.

Not everyone gets it. Where a single seat is at stake, a candidate needs at least one third of the winner's vote count. Where several seats are filled, the threshold is one half.

The subsidy arrives after the election. A candidate therefore has to prefinance the whole campaign and only learns afterwards whether any money comes back. Anyone with wealth or well funded backers can carry that risk. Anyone without has to borrow or step aside.

Two points have drawn criticism for years. There are ceilings on campaign spending but no penalties for exceeding them. And candidates need neither report nor disclose their own money put into a campaign. The civic group Taiwan Forward Front has called for reform.

Why costs are rising

A campaign is a business of posters, flags, loudspeaker vans, stages, printed material, staff and digital advertising.

Plastic based campaign material tracks crude oil prices, which have risen sharply because of the conflict in the Middle East. Transport and logistics get dearer with energy costs. Wage costs rise in a tight labour market because the technology sector pulls skilled people away.

Digital advertising follows its own logic. Its prices are set in auctions. When thousands of candidacies at every level compete for the same attention at once, prices climb regardless of general inflation. Campaign advertising is demanded in a few weeks, with a fixed deadline after which it is worthless. Its prices follow the election calendar, not the consumer price index.

Who this hits

Rising costs are not neutral. Established parties have structures, donor lists and reusable material. Incumbents have name recognition that reduces the need to advertise. Local networks, known in Taiwan as factions, mobilise resources that appear in no accounts.

New candidates and smaller parties have none of that. For them every cost increase raises the threshold above which running makes sense at all. A local politician in Chiayi, first elected for a small party and now running as an independent, reaches voters by following the rubbish truck and using the few minutes when residents bring out their waste. That method costs time instead of money and works at neighbourhood level. The larger the constituency, the more the budget decides.

The foreign policy frame

In April 2026 the Kuomintang chair met the Chinese president. Afterwards the Chinese side announced easings on tourism and on agricultural and fishery products. Academics have criticised this as indirect influence on the election. Criticism also followed the cancellation of a Taiwanese presidential visit to Eswatini under Chinese pressure.

Frequently asked questions

When and what does Taiwan vote on in November 2026

The nine in one election takes place on 28 November 2026. Nine levels of office are filled at the same time, from mayors and county magistrates down to village chiefs. Six special municipalities, 13 counties and three provincial cities are involved.

How does Taiwan's campaign cost refund work

The state pays 30 New Taiwan dollars for each vote received, capped by the spending ceiling of the constituency. Payment comes only after the election. In single seat races a candidate needs at least one third of the winner's vote count, in multi seat races one half.

Why does this rule disadvantage new candidates

The campaign has to be prefinanced in full, and whether money comes back is only known afterwards. Candidates with wealth or strong backers can carry that risk. Newcomers without a network have to borrow or give up the idea of running.

What gaps does Taiwan's campaign finance system have

There are ceilings on campaign spending but no penalties for breaching them. Candidates also need neither report nor publish the money they put in themselves. As a result the real cost of running for office stays unknown.

What role does China play in this election

After the Kuomintang chair met the Chinese president in April 2026, Beijing announced easings on tourism and on agricultural and fishery products. Academics read this as indirect influence. A Taiwanese presidential trip to Eswatini was also cancelled under Chinese pressure.

This analysis is for information only and is not investment advice.