TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Kuomintang (KMT) demand for open primaries to select an opposition presidential candidate feels like a forced marriage, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said Tuesday (Oct. 24).

Delegations from both camps launched proposals for the selection process during a meeting on Oct. 14. The TPP tabled the idea of debates followed by opinion polls, while the KMT insisted on nationwide open primaries where members of the public would cast their ballots for either Ko or for KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜).

Hou said in an interview Monday that he might accept serving as Ko’s running mate if that was the outcome of the selection process, but both their names should be featured on the same ballot. Responding at a news conference Tuesday, Ko said the KMT’s repeated mentions of deadlines made him feel like he was being pushed “into a forced marriage,” per UDN.

Hou had said that if open primaries were to take place on Nov. 4, about 10 days would be needed to organize them, so he expected a reply from Ko by Wednesday (Oct. 25) at the latest.

The TPP founder said this was a case of a large political party oppressing a smaller one, but he still hoped that differences could be resolved by the end of October.

He was planning to meet former Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), an influential KMT politician, Tuesday afternoon. At the same time, Hou and KMT Chair Eric Chu (朱立倫) announced they would hold a joint news conference to respond to the TPP candidate’s claims.

Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), the candidate for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has been leading opinion polls for the Jan. 13, 2024 elections. Independent Terry Gou (郭台銘), the founder of iPhone maker Foxconn Technology, has finished fourth in most surveys.