Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou joins push to form joint opposition ticket in next year’s presidential election

Ma urges the Kuomintang to accept the smaller Taiwan People’s Party’s preferred method of adopting a joint candidate for January’s election

Opinion polls suggest this ‘blue-white’ pact is the best chance of defeating the front runner William Lai from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party

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Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou, centre, urged the KMT to agree to the smaller party’s proposal. Photo: CNA

Published: 8:00pm, 13 Nov 2023Updated: 8:59pm, 13 Nov 2023

Former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou has thrown his weight behind efforts to forge an electoral pact between the main opposition parties to challenge the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s grip on power in January’s presidential election.

Polling figures currently suggest a joint ticket is the most likely route to defeating the independence-leaning DPP.

Vice-President William Lai is currently ahead of his two main rivals in the polls. Photo: Reuters

With the presidential registration deadline just days away, Ma, a former head of the main opposition party Kuomintang, urged the KMT to accept a proposal by the smaller Taiwan People’s Party to use a survey of opinion polls rather than a primary to select a joint presidential candidate.

The two mainland-friendly parties have been in talks in the past month about mounting a joint challenge to Vice-President William Lai Ching-te, who has been the front runner since he was nominated by the DPP as its candidate in January’s presidential election.

Although the KMT, known as the blue camp, and the TPP, the white camp, have agreed to cooperate in the race, they have been unable to decide how to pick their presidential candidate and running mate.

Hsiao Hsu-tsen, executive director of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, said on Monday the former president supported the TPP’s proposal, believing that public opinion surveys are a fair way to decide the order of a prospective joint ticket.