The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would announce a joint policy platform on Friday next week, which would be a prelude to a formal cooperation agreement ahead of the local elections in November, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said yesterday.
The joint policy platform would be released during a news event in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊), Huang said in a statement issued after a meeting of the TPP’s central committee yesterday morning.
The platform, which would cover issues including social welfare, housing justice, environmental sustainability and industrial development, would be the first part of a three-stage electoral cooperation plan, Huang said.
Photo: Huang Cheng-chia, Taipei Times
The second stage would be the signing of a written cooperation agreement, which the parties have begun discussing and hope to release by the end of this month, Huang said.
In the third stage, the parties would discuss how to put forward the strongest slate of candidates for the Nov. 28 elections, the statement said.
During local elections, which take place every four years, voters select mayors and city councilors for the special municipalities of Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung; and commissioners, mayors, councilors, township mayors and other representatives in the 16 other administrative regions.
The opposition TPP and KMT, as well as the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), have begun selecting their nominees. Candidate registration is to take place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4.
By combining forces, the TPP and the KMT hope to avoid splitting their supporters’ votes, which could hand wins to the DPP.
For example, in the New Taipei City mayorship race, two prominent opposition candidates — Huang for the TPP and Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川), a former KMT secretary-general — could add uncertainty in a city the KMT has held for more than 20 years, unless one of them agrees to bow out.
During the presidential election in January 2024, a bid to run a joint KMT-TPP ticket featuring the parties’ respective nominees, Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), fell apart because neither would accept the vice presidential slot. Many believed that cost them the election.
With the opposition divided, President William Lai (賴清德) of the DPP was elected, with 40.05 percent of the votes.
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