TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has scheduled a photo session with his putative running mate for next week, his campaign manager said Friday (Nov. 3).
The statement by Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) during an online interview was seen as raising the pressure on the Kuomintang (KMT) after Ko rejected its latest proposal for selecting a joint presidential candidate. While both parties denied there was a deadline, registration for candidates in the Jan. 13 elections starts Nov. 20.
Huang said Ko was planning to have campaign pictures taken with his running mate next week but did not know whether to go ahead because of the situation with the KMT, per UDN. She did not reveal who the running mate might be, though earlier media reports speculated she might run for vice president or Ko might turn to independent candidate Terry Gou (郭台銘).
Huang emphasized that Ko’s proposal made public at a news conference Friday was the final one. He still insisted on opinion polls to determine whether he or the KMT’s Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) should be the candidate, but if the result was within the margin of error, he would accept being the vice-presidential choice.
Ko rejected a formula proposed by KMT Chair Eric Chu (朱立倫), which combined polls with a vote by legislative candidates from both parties.
In Friday’s interview, Huang said the campaign needed to move forward. It was impossible to wait each day for the other side to make a decision or come up with a new proposal, she said. If the KMT agreed to Ko’s selection method, opinion pollsters needed only three days to prepare, with a survey result available after five days, according to Huang.
