TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The campaign office dedicated to collecting signatures for independent presidential contender Terry Gou officially opened on Monday (Sept. 18), signaling the commencement of the signature drive for the 2024 presidential election.
According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), independent presidential hopefuls and their running mates can collect signatures between Sept. 19 and Nov. 2. To successfully register as an independent presidential candidate, Gou must submit a minimum of 289,667 signatures.
Feeling the urgency of the timeline, Gou's campaign spokesperson, Huang Shih-hsiu, announced in an interview that the official signature drive would commence on Tuesday. Following the announcement of the results of petition initiators on Monday, Gou's campaign will promptly release further details to the public.
During the interview, Huang criticized the KMT for mudslinging and tarnishing Gou's image.
Since Gou announced his bid as an independent candidate, numerous KMT members have criticized Gou and his running mate, Lai Pei-hsia. Former KMT legislator and convener of the KMT think tank, Appolo Chen (陳學聖), insinuated that Lai's educational background lacked credibility, provoking strong reactions from Gou's campaign.
"The KMT should focus its efforts on supervising the Democratic Progressive Party and working towards alternation of power, rather than engaging in mudslinging, smearing Terry Gou, attacking Ko Wen-je, and Lai Pei-hsia," Huang reiterated.
Huang suggested that Gou actively seeks to form alliances with other opposition candidates, while the KMT appears to be an obstacle in uniting the opposition camps.
With Lai Ching-te leading in the polls, the division is the last thing opposition camps can afford. Yet, the consolidation of opposition forces appears to be a challenging endeavor.