TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) placed half-page advertisements in two of Taiwan’s major newspapers on Thursday (Jan. 11) urging voters to rally around the Kuomintang to change the country’s leadership ahead of the presidential election.

The ads target voters who seek to remove the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party from power, claiming it is corrupt and abusing its power. Tai Sounds reported that this marks the first time Ma has personally paid for election advertisements.

Placed in the United Daily News and Taiwan's China Times, the message “concentrate votes” dominates the ad. Below the call to action, voters are encouraged to give the KMT its vote for president, party vote, and local candidates.

Alongside the KMT, the Taiwan People’s Party has also been campaigning for the presidency on a platform of removing the DPP from power. Two parties drawing support from the same base may be a problem for candidates, as one only needs to secure more votes than any other to win the presidency.

Ma’s advertisement follows comments made by fellow senior KMT figure Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Sunday, who encouraged supporters of the TPP’s Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to abandon the party in favor of the KMT to bring about change.

Han said that Ko would not win the election, and encouraged supporters to vote for the KMT candidate. “Supporting Ko Wen-je is not a matter of good or bad, but of winning or not,” Han said.

Ma Ying-jeou (center right) is pictured with the KMT's presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih (center left) and the TPP's Ko Wen-je (right). (CNA photo)