Owing to the slim likelihood of its own candidates winning, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday said it would refrain from fielding candidates in district legislative elections and instead yield to its pan-green alliance partner, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The TSU and DPP originally planned to work together during the legislative election, nominating candidates from their respective parties. However, after determining its chances of winning the elections would be slim, the TSU decided to yield all candidacies to the DPP and dissuade TSU members from running for legislative seats, TSU Deputy -Secretary--General Liu Yi-teh (劉一德) said.
According to Article 24 of the Election and Recall Act (選舉罷免法), political parties who have garnered 2 percent or more of the vote in the legislative-at-large elections in the last three elections, or political parties who have more than five incumbent legislators, can choose to nominate candidates for legislators-at-large elections and need not nominate ten candidates for district legislative elections.
Since the TSU obtained 3.53 percent of the vote in the last legislative elections, it need not nominate ten district candidates in legislative election to be eligible to nominate candidates for legislators-at-large.
DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) confirmed that talks are being held between DPP -Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and TSU Secretary--General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) on the details of the agreement to work together in the presidential and legislative elections.
Chen said the DPP’s nomination task force has kept the deal with the TSU in mind, as it recently nominated former lawmaker David Huang (黃適卓) for a district in Taoyuan and Taipei City Councilor Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏) in Taipei, both from the TSU.
RSS