Taiwanese Voters Reject Bid to Oust Opposition Lawmakers

Outcome a blow to President Lai's party and its hopes for taking control of Parliament

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TAIPEI — Taiwanese voters rejected on July 26 an attempt to oust 24 opposition lawmakers, an official tally showed, dealing a blow to President Lai Ching-te's party and its hopes for taking control of Parliament.

Civic groups backed by Mr. Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had sought to unseat 24 lawmakers belonging to the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, who they accuse of being in cahoots with China.

The KMT, which advocates closer ties with Beijing, controls Parliament with the help of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) and has slammed the unprecedented recall effort as a DPP power grab.

A few hours after polling stations closed across Taiwan, the Central Election Commission's official vote count showed none of the recalls had succeeded.

Elections for another seven KMT lawmakers will be held on Aug 23. The DPP needs a minimum of 12 KMT lawmakers recalled to gain temporary control of Parliament.

"Let this political farce end here," KMT chairman Eric Chu told reporters.