KMT to Start Primary Polls Today, Results to Be Made Public Sunday

 KMT to Start Primary Polls Today,　Results to Be Made Public Sunday

Source: United Daily News

A Translation

June 12, 2015

The KMT Presidential primary opinion polls will start from 6:00 p.m. today. After negotiations, the KMT and Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), Deputy Legislative Speaker and the only aspirant qualified to enter the primary race, had reached a consensus: Three polling companies will be commissioned to ask respondents questions including whether they support Hung and whether they support Hung in a race against Tsai, as well as questions about their domicile, gender, and age.

The KMT will weight answers to the first two questions evenly, 50-50. The KMT is expected to make public the results at 10:00 a.m. this Sunday.

No KMT A-listers threw their hat in the primary ring, so Hung’s support ratings were tepid initially but now her support has been rising by leaps and bounds. In fact, Hung’s supporters have called on each other to stay at home and wait for the telephone poll throughout today and tomorrow. On the other hand, Green camp supporters are also reportedly planning to express their support for Hung in the telephone poll for different reasons. They believe that Hung is the weaker KMT candidate to beat. Therefore, helping Hung in the polls now will help Tsai to win the upcoming election, the reasoning goes.

Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), Director of the KMT’s Central Policy Committee and Legislative party whip, said, “time and tide create heroes. The KMT needs someone like Hung. Facing both bitter sarcasm and massive support, Hung is going to write a new chapter for herself and the Party.”

Former DPP legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) compared Hung’s character with that of incumbent Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-jo (柯文哲). Shen said that Hung could win votes the way Ko had done in last year’s mayoral election but she did not have the character defects Ko had conspicuously been shown to have. “This is why swing voters and even light Green voters will vote for her,” Shen added.  

Prior to the polls, Hung challenged Tsai again. Hung said “I am willing to face the cross-Strait reality and thus lead our nation intelligently and rationally down the right path. How about Tsai? Will Tsai clarify her stance?”

Attachment : none