Update on Elections in Taiwan
March 5, 2010
By: Benjamin Russell

Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang Party (KMT) suffered another in a series of electoral setbacks when it gained only one of a possible four legislative seats in a provincial by-election late last month, according to the AFP.  The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan’s main opposition party, took the other three seats, giving it 33 of the country’s 113 legislative seats to the KMT’s 74.

The setback marks the fourth time that the KMT has been repudiated at the polls since party chairman Ma Ying-jeou was elected president in May 2008.  Two of the counties where the DPP gained ground were previously thought to be KMT strongholds, according to the China Post, raising questions about the country’s support for the party.

“This is the KMT's fourth election setback and this deals a fresh blow to President Ma Ying-jeou's popularity and the party's morale," said Hsu Yung-ming, a political scientist at Soochow University. 

With observers seeing the results as a sign of things to come in year-end city elections and the 2012 presidential election, Ma reaffirmed his party’s commitment to reform.  “It is my firm belief that we should persist in pushing reforms in order to win stronger support. Only by doing so can we complete party integration and forge party unity to win future elections,” the president said.

Click here to read more about election politics in Taiwan

Sources:

China Post - Taiwan’s Ma Takes KMT Defeat in Recent By-elections as Warning

AFP – Taiwan’s Ruling Party in Fresh Election Setback

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