Taipei:A total of 10 candidates running for city and county council seats in Taiwan's upcoming local elections have been ruled ineligible, including New Party candidate You Zhi-bin, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced.

According to Focus Taiwan, five of the disqualified candidates were running for special municipality council seats and five for county or city council seats. Among them, You Zhi-bin, a Taipei City Council candidate originally from Fujian Province, China, failed to meet residency requirements. The CEC stated that although he provided evidence of relinquishing his mainland household registration in April 2025, he had not been registered as a Taiwan resident for the required 10 years thereafter.

Additionally, four city council candidates were disqualified due to criminal convictions or incomplete sentences. They include Lin Cheng-feng of New Taipei, convicted of money laundering; Cheng Po-chi of Taichung, convicted of fraud; Tsao Wei-kuo of Tainan, convicted under firearms and ammunition laws; and Hsiao Hsiang-han of Taoyuan, with an uncompleted sentence for obstruction of official duties.

The five disqualified county and city council candidates are Chung Jen-ming of Yunlin County, Ho Po-lun of Chiayi County, Chou Chun-yu of Hualien County, Shih Yung-cheng of Kinmen County, and Chang Fang-li of Keelung.

Candidate numbers will be assigned at local election commission offices on October 23, and financial disclosure information will be available online for one year once the candidate lists are finalized. Taiwan's 2026 local elections, scheduled for November 28, are termed the "9-in-1" elections, as voters will select representatives for nine different local government positions in 22 cities and counties.