Taiwan's opposition KMT is turning the year-end local elections into a fight over nuclear power, a push aimed at overturning the ruling DPP's phase-out policy.

• The election commission approved only one of three opposition-backed referendums: scrapping the nuclear-free homeland policy. Proposals on caning and traffic fines were rejected.
• The KMT's pitch ties energy to national security and to the electricity needed for AI, and it plans a hundred local rallies to sell that message.
• The party will run the referendum alongside the elections, working with other opposition parties and linking it to local candidates' campaigns.
• The DPP accuses the opposition of paralyzing government through budget delays, blocked defense spending, and stalled appointments, and is targeting eight KMT lawmakers running for local office.
• The KMT fires back over food safety failures, flood damage in the south, and the premier refusing to countersign laws passed by parliament.

Outlook: Expect months of dueling rallies as both sides treat the nuclear vote as a proxy test of the ruling party's record.