TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) received the most donations in the 2024 presidential election, while the Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) ticket got the second most, an amount more than double what the more established Kuomintang (KMT) brought in.
The Control Yuan, Taiwan’s government auditor, released a report on donations received during the election that showed the DPP's Lai received NT$514 million (US$15.59 million) in donations, per CNA. Lai and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) secured the presidency with 40.05% of the vote.
TPP Chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) ran as a third-party candidate and received NT$469 million in donations, compared to KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) who received NT$215 million. Despite that, Hou took the second most votes (33.49%), while Ko received the third most (26.46%).
The TPP received 84% of its donations from individual donors, compared to just 4% from business groups. Meanwhile, the DPP received 57% of its donations from individuals and 32% from business groups, while the KMT received 62% from individuals and 27% from business groups.
All three parties reported campaign donation surpluses, of which the TPP’s was the largest at NT$60.3 million. The DPP posted a NT$7.6 million surplus and the KMT NT$6.1 million.