Staff Writer, with CNA
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said it has put forward two nominees for the speaker and deputy speaker positions of the new legislature, which will be seated today.
Veteran DPP legislators Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) and Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) have been selected to run for the two top positions in the legislature, said DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), one of the five members of a team that is coordinating the matter.
Hsu and Yeh will compete against longtime Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), both of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Ker said.
However, because of the KMT’s majority in the 113-seat legislature, “the DPP is not very likely to win even if it joins ranks with other parties,” said Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), another DPP caucus whip.
The KMT holds 64 seats, the DPP has 40 and the Taiwan Solidarity Union, an ally of the DPP, has three.
Nonetheless, “to highlight the autonomy of the party and to strengthen its monitoring functions, the DPP is putting forward its own nominees,” Tsai said.
Tsai said the two DPP nominees are very familiar with legislative procedures and he expects a civil contest between the two parties today. Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) will serve as the DPP caucus’ new director-general. The position of chief secretary, which is reserved for a female legislator, was still open as of yesterday.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang