The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) plans to hold a review meeting this week following its poor showing in Saturday’s Kaohsiung mayoral by-election, TPP Legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) said yesterday.
The TPP candidate, Kaohsiung City Councilor Wu Yi-jheng (吳益政), received 38,960 votes (4.06 percent), or about 100,000 votes fewer than the party votes the TPP won in the Jan. 11 legislative elections.
Wu has a good reputation in his constituency, but he lacked publicity, so the party put in a lot of effort trying to boost his visibility and promote his policies during the campaign, Tsai said.
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
However, many pan-blue or pan-green supporters “easily returned to their old camps” as soon as those two parties began calling for their supporters at election-eve rallies to vote for their candidates, she said.
If Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the TPP chairperson, were not a top political star, the party would need to spend even more time laying a foundation in local constituencies, she added.
The TPP would review and reconsider its strategy as it prepares for the 2022 local elections.
Although Wu did not win many votes on Saturday, the party’s campaign team had learned a lot, which could serve as a reference for training future candidates, as well as helping train campaign staff to become political aides, she said.
The TPP also improved its links with Kaohsiung’s grassroots level, including borough wardens, industry leaders and business organizations, as well as connecting with many people who hold the same ideals as the TPP’s, she added.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lai Pin-yu (賴品妤) on Saturday night criticized Ko for not showing up at Wu’s post-election news conference, saying it meant Ko was trying to avoid blame for Wu’s loss.
Ko was “harsh and ungenerous,” Lai said.
However, the mayor yesterday called Lai’s remarks “irresponsible,” and said they were “aimed at influencing public opinion.”
“While other parties have abundant resources and can make irresponsible remarks, small parties that lack resources are struggling with all their might,” Ko said.
“For parties that have very few resources, we can only use all we have to do the best we can,” he added.
Additional reporting by Ou Su-mei
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