Long way to go before finding opposition’s sole candidate
After minor opposition People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo was confirmed Monday as the winner of a third-party primary for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, all eyes are now on whether it will be possible for Ahn and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to field a single candidate as he has been suggesting.
But it is widely predicted the discussion to field a single candidate to represent the opposition bloc will not be easy, as the People’s Party and the PPP differ on how to select one, with each preferring a method that favors their own candidate
Ahn, who beat former ruling party lawmaker Keum Tae-sup in a public poll, said he will meet with the winner of the PPP’s primary as soon as possible to enter into negotiations for a “unified candidate.”
“The process for selecting the final candidate should be carried out quickly,” Ahn said on Facebook. “I will meet with the candidate of the PPP as soon as the selection process is over.”
The PPP will announce its final candidate Thursday. Former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and former PPP floor leader Na Kyung-won are the leading contenders. Some of the latest opinion polls show that Ahn, an entrepreneur-turned-politician, is gaining more support than Na and Oh. A survey released
Monday by PNR Research showed that 42.4 percent of respondents supported Ahn outstripping the 26.2 percent who favored Na. Ahn was also ahead of Oh with 41.1 percent to 26.1 percent.
The two parties are engaging in a war of nerves over creating the rules for a single candidacy. The Ahn camp wants a survey to find out which candidate will be most competitive against the candidate from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). But the PPP wants a survey to seek people’s opinions on which party is more competitive.
The two are also at odds over whether the two parties should merge. PPP interim chief Kim Chong-in and some other members of the party leadership insist that even if Ahn becomes the final candidate representing the opposition bloc he should be the PPP candidate.
“The opposition bloc can’t win the election if a member of a third party (other than the DPK and the PPP) becomes the candidate,” Kim told reporters, Tuesday.
He added, according to the Election Law, the PPP won’t be able to campaign on behalf of the People’s Party.
The unified candidate to be selected from the opposition bloc will run against former SMEs and Startups Minister Park Young-sun, a five-term lawmaker who has been confirmed as the candidate for the DPK.