General elections will be held in Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, on 11 January 2020 to elect the 15th President and Vice President of the Republic of China, and all 113 members of the 10th Legislative Yuan.

Presidential election

In the presidential election, voters will elect the President and Vice President as a joint ticket. The process of presidential primary elections and nominations are likely to be held during the last six months of 2019.

Incumbent President of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who was elected in 2016, is eligible to seek for a second term. The winner of the 2020 presidential election is scheduled to be inaugurated on 20 May 2020.

Legislative election

The legislative election is scheduled on 11 January 2020 for all 113 seats to the Legislative Yuan. The term of the Legislative Yuan will begin on 1 February 2020.

In the last election in 2016, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a comfortable majority over the Kuomintang (KMT) for the first time with 68 seats, while the KMT’s representation sharply dropped to only 35 seats.

Electoral interference

In December 2019 The Diplomat reported that the People’s Republic of China is actively engaged in political warfare efforts to influence and disrupt the 2020 general election.

Former Chinese spy William Wang, who defected to Australia, claimed that the Communist Party of China wants to stop Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen from being re-elected.

Sources and further reading:

Taiwan’s Presidential Election: What to Know

https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/taiwans-presidential-election-what-know

Chinese spy confirms China’s involvement in Taiwan 2020 election

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3823123

CCP Influence Operations and Taiwan’s 2020 Elections

https://magazine.thediplomat.com/#/issues/-LulURInylDibWqHgwOj/preview/-LulU_RjAr1XiWkkvX4l

Taiwan 2020: Presidential Candidates Clash During Policy Presentation

https://international.thenewslens.com/feature/taiwan2020/128999