Nearly a dozen Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers could run in next month’s party presidential election, including veterans and junior legislators, making for an unusually crowded and unpredictable race.
But each of the prospective candidates faces the challenge of first securing the required signatures of support to stand for election.
Then they must seek votes from a party where the formal political factions that once guaranteed block votes to a candidate have been largely replaced by less-formal policy groups, whose members may not cast their ballots in lockstep with their leader’s desire.