KMT and PFP Should Cooperate to Nominate Joint Candidates

News Release

KMT and PFP Should Cooperate to Nominate Joint Candidates

Source: KMT Culture and Communication Committee

August 11, 2011

In response to the People First Party’s (PFP) announcement of its nomination list for the up-coming legislative elections, KMT Secretary General Liao Liou-yi yesterday stated that the KMT respected the PFP’s decision, but still hoped to facilitate substantive cooperation between the two parties.

Liao Liou-yi stressed that the legislative elections currently adopted the “single-seat district, two-ballot” electoral system, so the pan-Green camp would definitely benefit from pan-Blue disunity. Therefore, Liao proposed that if the KMT and the PFP each nominated candidates in the same legislative constituency, the two parties should hold consultations to jointly recommend the most electable candidate. If the consultations failed, Liao said that then a public opinion poll could be used to decide on the final nominee, adding that the KMT would call on its own candidates who had already been nominated to cooperate in the hope that cooperation between the two parties would be in line with the heartfelt expectations of pan-Blue supporters.

Liao Liou-yi stated that the KMT and the PFP had the same origins and close ideologies, and both parties identified with the Republic of China while opposing Taiwan independence. He explained that both parties had worked closely to successfully help the KMT return to power in 2008. He went on to say that during the 2008 legislative elections, many PFP legislative candidates campaigned under the KMT banner or were nominated to the KMT party list for at-large legislators, and some of them had even served as members of the KMT’s Central Standing Committee or KMT caucus whips. Liao stressed that this showed that cooperation between the KMT and the PFP was consistent, and the KMT never changed its attitude and even hoped to sustain the spirit of cooperation.

Liao Liou-yi finally reiterated that pan-Blue unity was an indispensible requirement for winning the Presidential and legislative elections next January. He said that Chairman Ma Ying-jeou also stated that as the ruling party, the KMT had the responsibility to coordinate the pan-Blue forces. Liao stressed that the KMT was willing to reinforce efforts in communication and coordination with the PFP in the hope that at the critical moment, both parties would take the overall situation into consideration in order to fulfill the common expectations of the majority of the voters.

Attachment : none