NEW TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Hou Yu-ih, the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) 2024 presidential candidate, expressed his support for a primary election to select the "strongest presidential candidate" between the KMT and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) on Sunday (Oct. 15).
At a rally in New Taipei for a KMT legislator, Hou said that "democratic primary elections" have been practiced for many years in democratic nations such as the United States, France, and South Korea.
"I believe it is the most direct way of appealing to the public in a scientific and democratic manner," he said.
Delegates from the KMT and TPP concluded talks on a possible election alliance a day earlier, agreeing to host three debates but failing to reach a consensus on the method for choosing the "strongest presidential candidate" to run against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Lai Ching-te.
The KMT proposed a primary election, while the TPP favored a phone survey and polls. Regarding this issue, the two parties plan to hold another meeting.
In response to the TPP's questioning of why the KMT didn't employ primaries when Hou and Terry Gou were competing for the KMT's nomination, KMT Chairman Eric Chu clarified that within the party, candidate selection relies on polls, evaluations by officials, and votes by members. "Primaries are more commonly used in party alliances," he said.