TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) saw their support improve in the latest TVBS poll released Friday (Dec. 29).
The changes occurred despite accusations leveled at all three candidates about real estate issues. Lai’s family home in the New Taipei City District of Wanli is said to be an illegal structure, while Hou was excoriated for his wife demanding high rents from students at one building.
The third candidate, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), co-owned farmland in Hsinchu City illegally used as a parking space for buses.
Despite the legal troubles, Lai and Hou both registered an increase in support from the previous TVBS poll. The DPP chair rose 4% to 37%, while Hou moved up 1% to 33%, according to the TV broadcaster. In contrast, Ko lost 2% to end up at 22%.
Lai saw his support from two groups of voters surge over the past week. The number of women saying they would vote for the DPP candidate rose by 6% to 40%, while support from the age group from 50 to 59 increased by 8% to 37%.
Asked whether they would go and vote on Jan. 13, 68% of poll respondents gave a strongly affirmative answer, while 17% said they probably would. Negative replies came from 11% of the survey participants.
Based on poll and actual election results from 2020, the turnout this time might reach 77%, or 2% more than in the previous presidential election, according to TVBS.
The poll saw Ko maintain his support from younger voters, with 56% of respondents between the ages of 20 and 29 backing the former mayor of Taipei City. The age group from 30 to 39 also preferred Ko, with 51% saying they would vote for him.
The TVBS poll was conducted Dec. 22-28 and produced 1,074 valid samples with a margin of error at 3.0%, per the China Times.