The chairman of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), Eric Chu, says that his party will choose a presidential candidate by June at the latest.
The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has already moved forward its nomination process to mid-February, before the Chinese Lunar New Year vacation begins. But Chu said the KMT is sticking with its original time frame, and that there is no political consideration for doing so.
The KMT has begun discussing possible candidates for the 2016 presidential election – including Vice President Wu Den-yih, Legislature President Wang Jin-pyng and the party’s chairman, Eric Chu, who also serves as New Taipei Mayor.
The Central Election Commission is looking into the possibility of combining the 2016 presidential elections with legislative elections, which must be held by January 21, 2016. That’s ten days before the term ends for current legislators.
But KMT Chairman Eric Chu said Sunday that if the two elections are held at the same time, it would mean that there would be an overlap of four months between the incoming and outgoing presidents. He said that sort of overlap is extremely unusual, not just in Taiwan, but around the world.
Chu also said that if Taiwan is moving towards a Cabinet-based system of government, then the two elections cannot be held together in the future. But he said that more discussion is needed between the different political parties before a decision can be made on whether to combine the elections.