Taiwan votes to decide whether to oust lawmakers : NPR

People are preparing to vote in a polling station in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday July 26, 2025 while the Taiwanese vote to determine whether it is necessary to oust around a fifth of their legislators, all of the nationalist opposition party, during the elections.

Chiangying-iying / ap

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Chiangying-iying / ap

Taipei, Taiwan – The Taiwanese voted on Saturday to determine whether it was necessary to oust around a fifth of their legislators, all of the nationalist opposition party, during the elections which could potentially reshape the balance of power to the legislature of the self -indicted island.

The Progressive Democratic Party of Independence won the presidential election of last year, but the nationalists favorable to China, also known as KMT, and the small Popular Party of Taiwan have enough seats to form a majority block.

Those who support the abolition of the 24 legislators are angry that the KMT and its allies have blocked key legislation, in particular the defense budget, and have adopted controversial changes which are considered to decrease the power of the executive and promote China, which considers the island its own territory.

The actions of the opposition parties have aroused concerns among some Taiwanese concerning the democratic integrity of the island and its capacity to dissuade Chinese military threats, leading to the recall campaigns. The scale of the recall elections is unprecedented, with seven other kmt legislators confronted with similar votes on August 23.

But the KMT allegedly alleged that the ruling party has resorted to political reprisals after losing the legislative majority, claiming that the reminders were on and off the Taiwan democratic system.

The KMT has 52 seats, while the DPP in power contains 51 seats. For the DPP to obtain a legislative majority, at least six kmt legislators should be ousted, and the power party should win all the by -elections, which should take place within three months of the announcement of the results.

For the recall to pass, more than a quarter of the eligible voters of the electoral district must vote in favor of the recall, and the total number of supporters must exceed those against.

If KMT loses its seats during the recall elections, the party can submit new candidates in the by -elections and can be able to win back the seats.

Outside a Taipei polling station, old and young voters were waiting to make ballots. The survey will end at 4 p.m. local time with expected results on Saturday evening.

The elections have intensified tensions between those supporting the status quo and those promoting improved links with Beijing. Critics accuse politicians adapted to China of compromising Taiwan and contesting their meetings with continental Chinese politicians. But these Taiwanese politicians affirm that their links are essential for dialogue given the refusal of Beijing to interact with the DPP.

Asked about the recall election, the spokesperson for the Taiwan business office in China, Zhu Fenglian, said in June that since the administration of the president of Taiwan, Lai Ching-Te, was in power, he sought to achieve “unique domination” and practiced “dictatorship” in the form of “democracy”, reported the CCTV of Broadcaster. It was cited as saying that the Government of Lai had spared no effort in the abolition of opposition parties and those who supported the development of relations between the traits.

The Taiwan Continental Affairs Council said on Wednesday that the Chinese authorities and the state media had tried to clearly interfere with the vote.