Democratic Progressive Party suffers big defeat in Taiwan elections; Tsai Ing-wen resigns as chairwoman
- Independence-leaning party loses seven of 13 cities and counties in Saturday’s polls
- Premier William Lai also offers his resignation to Tsai
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has resigned as chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party after suffering a humiliating electoral defeat.
The independence-leaning party lost seven of its 13 cities and counties in Saturday’s polls, including two special municipalities, as a disgruntled electorate handed it a vote of no confidence. Analysts described the result as a turnaround in political influence, four years on from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) suffering a similar election setback.
Tsai had been facing mounting pressure from Beijing and a domestic backlash over the economy.
The KMT swept to a landslide victory, winning not only the southern city of Kaohsiung, but also its former political territory Taichung in central Taiwan, allowing it to increase its influence to at least three of the six special municipalities and a number of other local cities and counties.
Kaohsiung had been a power base for pro-independence DPP for two decades.
Meanwhile, Ko Wen-je, the independent mayor of the island’s capital Taipei, declared victory early Sunday morning.