Taiwan: Taiwan’s two rival opposition parties are set to collaborate in the upcoming presidential election, in a move analysed as a major political upset for the East Asian democracy.
The deal will bring together the Kuomintang (KMT), one of Taiwan’s two major political parties, and the independent Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to compete in a joint ticket for the presidency and legislature in the national vote to be held on January 13, 2024.
Both parties did not reveal further details of the collaboration. According to reports, they would base their decisions on the results of polling, which has been under way since November 7. The outcome will be announced on November 18.
The presidential candidates for both parties, the TPP’s Mr. Ko Wen-je and the KMT’s Mr. Hou Yu-ih, have until now been polling far behind Vice President Mr. William Lai, the ruling Democratic People’s Party’s candidate.
“No matter what, whoever is the lead and whoever is the deputy, everyone will work together,” Mr. Hou told reporters, referring to who gets the presidential candidate spot and who gets the vice presidential one.
According to previous analyses released on October 24, there was more support for Mr. Lai at 33 percent, followed by Mr. Ko and Mr. Huo, both at 22 percent. Founder and independent billionaire candidate Mr. Terry Gou was in last place with 8 percent.
Taiwan’s two main political parties typically flip power every eight years. If the trend continues, the island should shift back to the KMT. According to analyses until now, it seems that Mr. Lai might win the DPP an unprecedented third consecutive term in office, but the opposition’s move to work together makes that chance less certain.
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