KMT to wait for TPP joint presidential ticket decision until 'final moment'

Taipei, Nov. 23 (CNA) Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), announced on Thursday that it will wait for the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP) to make a decision on the possibility of a joint presidential ticket "until the final moment", ahead of the candidacy registration deadline at 5:30 p.m.

The KMT announcement came after a public meeting held at the Grand Hyatt Taipei hotel between the two sides.

The meeting, attended by numerous media outlets and streamed online, concluded on a sour note due to a seemingly intractable disagreement over the use of polls to select a joint presidential candidate, leading to verbal sparring between the candidates and KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) raising his voice at one point.

However, the KMT subsequently insisted that talks between the two sides had not fallen apart.

In a press conference later that day, KMT spokesperson Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) stressed the party's unwavering willingness with utmost sincerity and patience to wait for the TPP's decision "until the final moment."

"KMT-TPP cooperation is not for any individual or political party, but for the whole country," she said.

"We are not currently considering any vice presidential candidates," Yang said when asked whether the KMT has a potential vice presidential candidate in mind - a move that would signify the total breakdown of the TPP-KMT joint ticket.

Yang urged the TPP to stick to the six-point agreement reached on Nov. 15, in which both presidential hopefuls agreed to decide the top of the ticket through public polls.

Late Thursday night, the KMT announced it would convene a Central Standing Committee to endorse its presidential and vice-presidential candidates at 11:00 a.m. with Hou and his running mate expected to register their candidacy at 11:45 a.m. at the Central Election Commission.

The goal of fielding a joint ticket was intended to present a more unified challenge to the ruling Democratic Presidential Party (DPP), which has been in power for nearly eight years.

Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), the presidential nominee of the DPP, has been leading the polls for months, with KMT presidential nominee Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the TPP's Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), and business tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘) dividing opposition support.

The Nov. 15 agreement, lacking sufficient detail, outlined that poll experts chosen by the KMT and TPP would evaluate the results of a compilation of public polls released from Nov. 7 to Nov. 17, in addition to internal polls conducted by both parties.

However, disputes over the mechanism to interpret polling data resulted in the swift collapse of the agreement after its signing, with the two sides blaming each other.

Meanwhile, the TPP released a short notice on Thursday, announcing that Ko and his running mate, will on Friday officially register their candidacy at 11:00 a.m. for the election on Jan. 13.

The notice did not disclose the identity of Ko's running mate.