A local council race in Taichung just got messier as a losing primary candidate walked out of the ruling party and filed to run on her own.

• Lin Yu-mei finished last in the DPP's polling primary for Taichung's 5th district and has now announced she is leaving the party to run as an independent.
• She accuses party insiders of teaming up with a defector from the former TPP to game the primary, turning what should have been a fair contest into a stitch-up.
• The district elects six seats and the DPP nominated three, pitting two veterans against two younger women — Lin's exit adds a fourth DPP-aligned name to the ballot and splits the vote.
• Lin is the daughter-in-law of a former DPP county councillor, giving her a local family base to campaign on.
• The Taichung party office says it has not yet received her paperwork, while rival nominee Chen Ying-chen calls the claims an attack on the primary system and is weighing a response.

Outlook: Expect a public fight over the primary's fairness, with the DPP risking a split vote in a seat it can ill afford to lose.