2008 Democratic Progressive Party chairmanship election

The 2008 Democratic Progressive Party chairmanship election took place on May 18, 2008. The election date was announced by chairperson Frank Hsieh after losing the presidential election.

2008 Democratic Progressive Party chairmanship election

← 15 January 2006 18 May 2008 2010 →

Candidate Tsai Ing-wen Koo Kwang-ming Chai Trong-rong Popular vote 73,865 48,882 6,530 Percentage 57.1% 37.8% 5.1%

County-level units with Tsai Ing-wen leading.   County-level units with Koo Kwang-ming leading.   Area with no party office (Lienchiang County).

Chairman before election Chen Shui-bian Chairperson of DPP Tsai Ing-wen

Candidates

Three members expressed their desire to run for the position:

Chai Trong-rong

Chai Trong-rong, first president of the World United Formosans for Independence and former legislator, announced his candidacy on April 14, 2008.^[1] He withdrew from the election on May 12 and endorsed candidate Koo Kwang-ming.^[2]

Endorsements
Name	Former faction	Political office	References
Hsu Tain-tsair	Justice Alliance	Mayor of Tainan	[3]

Koo Kwang-ming

During Koo Kwang-ming's campaign, he made controversial remarks towards Tsai Ing-wen about the suitability of an unmarried woman leading. He then apologized to all women in Taiwan for those statements.^[4]

Endorsements
Name	Former faction	Political office	References
Chai Trong-rong	Welfare State Alliance	Member of the Legislative Yuan	[2]
Chen Shih-meng		Secretary-General of the Presidential Office	[5]
Shieh Jhy-wey	N/A	Minister of the Government Information Office

Tsai Ing-wen

Tsai Ing-wen, former vice premier and former chairperson of the Mainland Affairs Council, won support from many local executives and decided to launch her campaign. She earned endorsements from Chiayi County magistrate Chen Ming-wen, Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu, Tainan County magistrate Su Huan-chih, and Yunlin County magistrate Su Chih-fen.^[6]

Endorsements
Name	Former faction	Political office	References
Chen Chu	New Tide	Mayor of Kaohsiung	[7]
Chen Ming-wen	Justice Alliance	Magistrate of Chiayi County	N/A
Su Huan-chih	Justice Alliance	Magistrate of Tainan County	[7]

Results

Candidate	Total votes cast	Percentage of vote	References
Tsai Ing-wen	73,865	57.1%	[8]
Koo Kwang-ming	48,882	37.8%
Chai Trong-rong	6,530	5.1%
Voter turnout	51.1%

References

1. Ko Shu-ling. "Chai makes bid for DPP chair". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2008.
2. "Chai pulls out of DPP leadership race" (Press release). Taipei Times. May 13, 2008. Archived from the original on May 23, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
3. 選黨主席 市長挺蔡同榮 (Press release) (in Chinese). Liberty Times. May 12, 2008. Archived from the original on May 20, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
4. Ko, Shu-ling (May 8, 2008). "Koo apologizes for offensive remarks". Taipei Times.
5. "Chen Shih-meng supports Koo's chairmanship bid" (Press release). Taipei Times. April 26, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
6. "民進黨黨魁之爭 蘇治芬挺蔡英文". Liberty Times. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
7. "蔡英文拜票 陳菊、蘇煥智相挺". Liberty Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
8. "第12屆黨主席選舉投(開)票數統計表". Democratic Progressive Party. Archived from the original on June 28, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2008.