The battle between the two parties is getting started at the Kaohsiung City Council, with the city and county set to be merged on December 25th.

KMT and DPP are both canvassing to win independent councilors' support, in snatching the seats of council speaker and deputy speaker.

Following the merger of Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County and their respective municipal councils, the DPP will have a new majority.

On Monday, the party announced that Hung Ping-lang would continue serving as its Kaohsiung Council convener.

The merged Kaohsiung Council has 66 seats, of which the KMT has 29, the DPP has 28, the PFP has one, and independents have eight.

As neither party has a majority, both the KMT and DPP have its sights set on the speaker and deputy speaker posts.

However, independent Cheng Hsin-chu has already been reinstated as a DPP member, and Chen Chih-chung and Istanda Paingav have close ties to the DPP.

Several members of the DPP's council caucus, including Hung, Kang Yu-cheng, and Chou Ling-wen, are interested in running for council speaker.

KMT candidates include Hsu Fu-sen and Chuang Chi-wang, who previously served as Kaohsiung County Council speaker, and former KMT Kaohsiung City Council convener Hsu Kun-yuan.

Meanwhile, former Kaohsiung City Council Deputy Speaker Huang Shih-lung reportedly plans on establishing an independent alliance to keep the two parties in check.