TAIPEI: Voters in Taiwan were going to the polls Saturday to elect local government chiefs and councillors in what analysts say is a vote on President Ma Ying-jeou's performance.

About seven million people in 17 cities and counties can cast their ballots in polling stations across the island, excluding major cities such as Taipei, Taichung and Tainan.

More than 60,000 police will be on duty to prevent any violence amid widespread vote-buying allegations in some hotly contested areas, the police said.

Taiwan should be a shining example of democracy in East Asia but has long been tainted by vote-buying, and the local elections are no exception.

Justice ministry data showed prosecutors were investigating 191 alleged vote-buying cases for local mayor and county chief elections, and 1,239 cases in local council elections.

Observers say the vote will be a test for Ma, who was inaugurated in May 2008.

"This election will be a mid-term test for Ma as voters will decide based on his performance since taking office", said Hsu Yung-ming, a political scientist at Soochow University.

Currently 14 of the 17 cities and counties up for grabs are run by the ruling Kuomintang (KMT). The party has said it is struggling in six counties.

Ma's government came under fire for its handling of August's devastating Typhoon Morakot and over a decision to import more US beef products, despite health concerns.

Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has urged voters to teach Ma's Beijing-friendly party a lesson for compromising the island's sovereignty.

"We hope the voters will cast aside the incompetent government. We disapprove of the Ma administration bowing to China ... which causes many people to worry about Taiwan's future," the party said in a statement.

Ma, whose popularity fell to an all-time low of 16 percent during the typhoon crisis, has defended his policies of boosting ties with China.

"I don't mind the DPP's rhetoric but I do mind whether our policies can bring peace, prosperity and progress to Taiwan. I believe we have accomplished that," Ma said earlier this week.

However, Ma declined to say if he would step down as the KMT chairman if his party fails to win the elections.

"The condition for this election is different than four years ago. The strategies and measures we adopted four years ago won't necessarily be effective this time," he told reporters.

The KMT, then in opposition, won a landslide victory in the 2005 local elections while analysts said Ma's pledge to quit as party chief was a key factor.

Tensions mounted between Taiwan and China, which split in 1949 after a civil war, under the eight-year rule of the DPP, but the relationship has improved dramatically since Ma became president.

Voting will end at 0900 GMT with counting starting immediately while results are expected around 1400 GMT at the earliest, the Central Election Commission said. The commission estimated voter turnout at 60 to 65 percent.