Taiwan's Penghu county race has turned into a wide-open six-way fight after the sitting magistrate was knocked out by an accident, leaving no clear favorite before the year-end vote.

• Chen Kuang-fu, the DPP magistrate who looked set for re-election, was badly hurt in a fall on Lunar New Year's Day and fell into a coma, throwing the race open.
• His wife Wu Shu-chin is running in his place for the DPP, starting on sympathy and now pushing his welfare agenda — bigger elderly holiday payments, free island flights with international tickets, and emergency medical transport.
• The KMT is running Huxi township chief Chen Chen-chung, seen as mild-mannered and effective, though rumors that he would be controlled by backers are dogging him.
• Independent Yeh Chu-lin, backed by the broader blue camp, lost to Chen Kuang-fu by only about a thousand votes three years ago and has been working the grassroots since, but has no party machine behind him.
• Three other candidates remain low-profile and risk being squeezed out entirely.

Outlook: With three real contenders splitting the island, swing voters in the middle will decide who takes the county seat.