Taiwan's ruling DPP left several of Yunlin County's biggest townships without a candidate, a setback for the party in a county it has long treated as friendly ground.

• Of Yunlin's 20 township mayor races, the DPP fielded candidates in 12 and the KMT in just 5, with most others running as independents.
• Huwei, Tuku and Lunbei each have only one registered candidate, so those mayors win by default.
• Skipping Huwei and Tuku stings most — they are the county's biggest vote banks and were seen as green territory.
• The DPP says it looked for candidates there and found none suitable, insisting it has not given up on any district.
• The KMT says it did not push local hopefuls to run under its banner, judging that winning matters more than the party label.

Outlook: Local farmers and civic groups are pressing the DPP to explain itself, and the party says it will pour effort into these townships ahead of the county magistrate race.