SAINT Lucian journalist Earl Bousquet is among a group of 13 international observers in Taiwan for today’s Presidential and Legislative Elections on the Asian island.
Bousquet, a veteran local and regional journalist, is the only Caribbean delegate invited to observe the polls today, in which three Presidential candidates and 556 legislative candidates representing 18 parties are vying for the Presidency and 113 legislative seats.
Some 18.7 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots in today’s poll, in which the two major parties – the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) – are the major competitors.
The international observer mission was invited by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) and the observers came from regions around the world.
Other members of the international observer mission are from El Salvador, Mexico, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia, The Philippines and the United Kingdom.
The TFD is the first democracy assistance foundation to be established in Asia and is devoted to “Strengthening Democracy and Human Rights in Taiwan and abroad.”
The TFD says its primary concerns are “to further consolidate Taiwan’s democratic system, promote democracy in Asia and actively participate in the global democratic network.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says about 400 from foreign media outlets are covering today’s poll.
The international journalists include 162 from Japan, 55 from the USA and 29 from Singapore.
Election campaigns across the island have also been broadcast live in the weeks leading to today’s poll by several local TV and radio news channels, as well as full coverage by domestic and international online media.