The People First Party (PFP) yesterday reiterated PFP Chairman James Soong’s (宋楚瑜) determination to run in the presidential election.
PFP spokesman Wu Kun-yu (吳崑玉) made the remarks in response to a call by New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) for Soong to give up his bid for the presidency and instead serve as a legislator-at-large.
“We can exercise our influence in the legislature as two small parties and create a win-win situation for the pan-blue camp,” said Yok, who will top the New Party’s legislator-at-large list.
The New Party is a KMT splinter group which separated from the party in 1993. The PFP is also a KMT splinter group which formed after the 2000 presidential election.
Given that the PFP shares a similar support base with the KMT, the KMT is concerned that PFP presidential and legislative candidates could siphon enough support from their own candidates to affect the final outcome.
Soong, who ran for the presidency as an independent in 2000 after splitting with the KMT, is mounting another presidential bid that could hurt the re-election chances of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT, who is locked in a tight race with Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Aside from reiterating Soong’s determination to run for president, Wu said his party would present its legislator-at-large list by Nov. 25.
On Monday, the PFP issued a statement accusing the KMT of “repeatedly and deliberately” spreading rumors that the two parties had been in talks since July to force it out of the presidential and legislative elections.
The PFP said the KMT only had one purpose when negotiating deals — to eliminate the small opposition party from the Jan. 14 elections.
“We have decided to go our own way,” the PFP said in the statement, which came as a response to a local media report that the KMT was willing to discuss an election deal with the PFP until Nov. 25, the deadline for candidates to formally register for the elections.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
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