Six of Taiwan's smaller political parties will hold a joint news conference tomorrow in a last-ditch effort to convince people to vote for them in Saturday's legislative elections.
They are among 10 small parties struggling for a minority say in the new legislature, but pundits say they stand little chance of winning any seats, regardless of how hard they try.
Known as the 'third force', the six parties planning tomorrow's news conference - the Taiwan Solidarity Union, the New Party, the Green Party, the newly formed Home Party, the Taiwan Farmers' Party and the Society 3 Party - are fighting for the 34 'at-large seats' to be allotted to political parties according to their percentage of the vote.
Capitalising on the new election system, which asks a voter to cast two ballots - one for a candidate running for one of 79 district seats, and one for a political party scrambling for the 34 at-large seats - the lesser parties have fielded candidates known for their expertise or clean image.
'Sick of the political bickering between the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the opposition Kuomintang? Give your vote to us,' is a slogan they have used.
Wary of a split vote that could result in none of them winning any at-large seats, the six parties set up an informal coalition to canvass support from neutral voters and those who are slightly pro-KMT or slightly pro-DPP. But each party still has its own political platform.