The KMT's last-minute change of candidate has turned the Hengchun township mayor race into a four-way contest — an opportunity for Lu Wen-hsin and a source of pressure for the other candidates.

• The KMT's Pingtung County branch has formally nominated sitting county councillor Lu Wen-hsin to run for Hengchun township mayor.
• Incumbent mayor Yu Shih-ching, concerned that registering after the amendments to the Election and Recall Act could trigger disputes over his eligibility to run, has decided not to seek re-election and to hand over to Lu Wen-hsin.
• Several townships in Pingtung face the same eligibility concerns, and more last-minute candidate switches may emerge once registration opens next week.
• The Hengchun mayoral race is now crowded with four contenders: Lu Wen-hsin, former mayor Chen Wen-hung of the DPP, independent former mayor Lu Yu-tung, and former township office secretary Yu Kuang-pin.
• With Lu Wen-hsin withdrawing from her county council re-election bid, the councillor race in the Hengchun Peninsula's sixth electoral district has opened up, greatly improving the DPP's Li Chien-hua's chances of taking the third seat.

Outlook: Once the registration period opens next week, the four-way contest for Hengchun township mayor will be formally set, and other townships in Pingtung may also see a succession of last-minute candidate switches.