Taiwan gears up for elections Taiwanese voters head to the polls on January 11 to elect new lawmakers as well as their next president. 113 seats will be contested by more than 400 candidates from 19 political parties. This election has seen a rise in prospects for independent and third-party candidates with increasing voter frustration with the political establishment dominated by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition Kuomintang (KMT). IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES