TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A closely contested presidential race is emerging in Taiwan, according to the latest survey released on Tuesday (Dec. 19).
The poll conducted by ETtoday shows the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates Lai Ching-te and Hsiao Bi-khim leading with 35.9 percent support, while the Kuomintang (KMT) ticket, comprising Hou Yu-ih for president and Jaw Shaw-kong for vice president, is close behind with 34.7 percent.
The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je and running mate Cynthia Wu hold third place with 19.6 percent support. Notably, the TPP's Ko-Wu ticket has garnered 26.3 percent support from centrist voters, surpassing both the KMT's Hou-Jaw ticket at 24.2 percent and the DPP's Lai-Hsiao ticket at 23.1 percent among this group.
Regarding expectations of victory, 44.3 percent of respondents believe the DPP candidates are likely to win the 2024 presidential and vice presidential elections, while 30.1 percent favor the KMT contenders, and 13.8 percent support the TPP candidates.
However, the poll also reveals significant opposition, with 40.5 percent indicating they would not vote for the DPP ticket, 27.3 percent against the KMT, and 20.6 percent not favoring the TPP.
The survey, sponsored by ETtoday, was conducted on December 18-19 among Taiwanese adults over 20 years of age via mobile text notifications and closed internet questionnaires. The poll, with a stratified proportional sampling method, has an error margin of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level and gathered a valid sample size of 1,224.