Taiwan's two opposition parties have failed to agree on a joint candidate in Zhubei, a setback for both ahead of the November local elections.

• The Taiwan People's Party says it had an understanding with the KMT: no TPP candidate for Hsinchu County magistrate, and the KMT would leave the Zhubei mayor race to the TPP.
• KMT chair Cheng Li-wun told TPP chair Huang Kuo-chang she could not resolve the Zhubei race, blamed on internal KMT resistance.
• Huang called it a broken promise and said the deal was never put in writing, only repeatedly confirmed in talks.
• The TPP is pressing ahead with Chiu Chen-yuan, a former legislative caucus leader and acting Hsinchu mayor, and will register him next week.
• Zhubei matters to the TPP because it was one of its strongest areas in the 2024 presidential vote.

Outlook: A three-way race in Zhubei now looks likely, splitting the opposition vote and testing whether the wider KMT-TPP cooperation holds in other districts.