Ko envisions kingmaker role for TPP in Legislative Yuan

Taipei, Dec. 7 (CNA) The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) will aim to double its seats to 10 in next January's legislative elections, the party's chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said Wednesday.

Should the TPP meet this goal, the party would hold the balance of power in the Legislative Yuan if, as expected, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) or the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) fails to win an outright majority.

Speaking during an online campaign event, Ko said that he was optimistic about the TPP's chances of winning 10 seats given that it had managed to clinch five seats in Taiwan's last legislative election less than a year after its founding.

The TPP has been the third-largest party in the Legislative Yuan since 2020, behind the DPP with 63 seats and KMT with 38.

Of the 113 members in Taiwan's Legislature, 73 are returned by voters in single-member constituencies, while 34 are at-large seats distributed according to the total votes garnered by each party.

While all five incumbent TPP legislators represent at-large constituencies, Ko said the party would also seek to be competitive in single-member districts.

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