Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwanese voters have rejected a bid to oust nearly one-fifth of lawmakers from the opposition Nationalist Party in a recall election on Saturday, dampening hopes for the ruling party to gain more power.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party won last year’s presidential election, but its majority is at risk due to the current balance of power. The opposition parties have enough seats to form a majority bloc.
Official preliminary results showed that all 24 lawmakers from the Nationalist Party facing recall were retained. A similar vote will take place on August 23 for seven more KMT lawmakers.
The Democratic Progressive Party needs at least six KMT lawmakers to be ousted and win by-elections within three months to secure a legislative majority. However, the ruling party faced significant opposition in this election.
The outcome may limit President Lai Ching-te’s ability to push his agenda forward, especially ahead of local elections next year.
Experts say that voters have shown support for stability over political fighting. Taiwan’s Central Election Commission will announce official results on August 1.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/26/asia/taiwan-votes-china-lawmaker-election-latam-intl