TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The director of Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) presidential campaign has warned supporters that if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) does not gain a majority of legislative seats following the general election, the party will have limited power – even if it wins the presidency.
Lai’s campaign director Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) made the comments on Monday (Jan. 8) at National Taiwan University, ahead of Taiwan’s general election on Saturday (Jan. 13), per CNA. As there is no option to vote remotely in Taiwan’s elections, Cho called on overseas Taiwanese specifically to return to Taiwan and cast their ballots.
Cho also called on Taiwanese people in China to return to vote and said they know what is best for the country. Cho was succeeded as chair of the DPP by Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2022, and he also leads overseas support efforts for candidate Lai.
Cho said that in addition to sending Lai and DPP running mate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) to the presidential office, he also hopes to see the DPP gain a majority in the legislature. If a majority is not gained, everything will be difficult to do, he said.
It is illegal to publish polls relating to legislative and presidential elections within 10 days of voting. However, political commentators have noted the possibility that none of Taiwan’s major political parties will gain a majority in the legislature after the election.
In addition to the DPP, the Kuomintang (KMT), the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), and several minor parties are running for legislative seats. In October, the KMT and TPP reached an informal agreement to work together to secure a majority of seats in the legislature, though did not make clear how this would be done.
