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2024 election news update
The Central Election Commission has announced the schedule for next year's legislative election. Voting will occur on 13 January, the same day as the presidential election. Candidates can register from 16-24 November this year. Voters will elect 73 regional legislators, 6 indigenous legislators, and 34 legislators from party lists and overseas constituencies. Parties with over 5% of the vote will choose legislators based on their vote share, ensuring at least half are women.
Candidate registrations for regional and indigenous legislators will be accepted at local election commissions, while party list and overseas candidates will register at the CEC's office.
In candidate news, DPP presidential candidate Lai Ching-te has officially announced his election campaign team. Lai has appointed former lawmaker Pasuya Yao to serve as chairman, while former Premier Su Tseng-chang will serve as its honorary chair. Former Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen will serve as convener of the campaign team's decision-making committee.
Speaking to reporters after announcing the appointments of his key campaign personnel, Lai said he chose his team to include "talent from within and without the DPP" and they will work together to "ensure victory in the election."
Lai announced that the DPP is also forming a "democratic alliance" as part of efforts to collaborate with other political parties and the DPP presidential candidate also said that, if elected he will consider members of opposition parties when appointing his cabinet. The DPP will be formally announcing its party list for the upcoming election next week and Lai's pick for vice president is expected to be announced within two weeks.
Meanwhile, Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je said yesterday that the only hurdle to a prospective joint presidential ticket with Hou Yu-ih of the KMT is "deciding who has top billing."
Speaking to reporters, Ko said he remains "optimistic" about hashing out an electoral pact with the KMT despite the continuing impasse between the two parties over candidate selection. Ko has previously said he will "insist" on deciding the order of any prospective ticket by public poll without giving equal weighting to a cross-party vote among legislative candidates as favoured by the KMT.
The KMT has not rejected Ko's proposal outright, but KMT Chairman Eric Chu has described it as being "statistically meaningless." KMT legislative caucus whip William Tseng said earlier this week that while the party is committed to an alliance with the TPP, it will "prepare for the worst."
In other campaign news, Ko Wen-je yesterday outlined his plans to address Taiwan's low birth rates. Ko's proposals include cash handouts for mothers and the expansion of a monthly subsidy programme.
According to Ko, if elected he will enact policies to provide new mothers with a one-time payment of NT$100,000, as well as NT$50,000 when they are three months pregnant. Ko says he will expand monthly child-rearing subsidies to cover children between the ages of 6 and 12 and launch a legal drive to amend what he's calling "outdated" maternity leave regulations by extending them from the current 8 to 14 weeks.
The TPP presidential candidate says he also plans to establish more public daycare centers that can look after children past normal business hours and create a cabinet-level "population development commission" to streamline efforts to tackle the low birth rate.
