Taiwanese voters reject a bid to remove lawmakers from a China-friendly party : NPR

The Taiwanese vote in a polling station in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday to determine whether it is necessary to oust around a fifth of their legislators, all of the nationalist opposition party, in the elections.

Chiangying-ying / AP / AP

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Chiangying-ying / AP / AP

Taiwanese voters have rejected an attempt to avoid about a fifth of their legislators, all of the nationalist opposition party, during a recall election on Saturday, attracting hopes that the ruling party reverses the balance of powers in the legislature of the self-inducted 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.

While the voting count was still underway, the preliminary results have shown that the recall efforts had not eliminated any of the two dozen KMT legislators, most of the important margins. The scale of the recall elections is unprecedented, with seven other kmt legislators confronted with similar votes on August 23.

While the results of the August vote are also unfavorable to the DPP, the result indicates that the government of the president of Taiwan, Lai Ching-Té, could continue to face strong resistance within the legislative assembly before the next elections, which should take place in 2028.

“A difficult battle”Despite their enormous efforts, those who support the recall faced a “difficult battle” by trying to overthrow legislators in well -organized districts and strongly KMT, said Lev Nachman, professor of political science at the National University of Taiwan and expert in the Taiwan elections.

The result will make Lai more difficult to advance its program, especially before the local elections next year, said Nachman.

“For the moment, there is very few lai can do other than trying to think of other creative ways to call on the public,” he told the Associated Press.

Fu Kun-Chi, one of the most powerful and most controversial legislators targeted, said that the result had left Lai without any option to meet the opposition and “find a way for Taiwan to proceed more stable in this chaotic world”.

The two parties say they are for democracyThose who support the elimination of the 24 legislators were angry that the KMT and its allies blocked key legislation, in particular the defense budget, and 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.

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 the by -elections, which must be held within three months of the announcement of the results.

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

The survey closed at 4 p.m. local time. The Taiwan Central Electoral Commission will announce the official results on August 1.

Tensions broke out on the surveyThe 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 election of the recall, the spokesperson for the Taiwan business office in China, Zhu Fenglian, said in June that since the administration of Lai came to power, he had sought to achieve “domination to a part” and to practice the dictatorship under the cover of democracy, reported the CCTV of the broadcaster. The office is a branch of the government of the Communist Party Chinese leader, which itself maintains a unique strict rule.

Zhu said that the Government of Lai had spared no effort in the abolition of opposition parties and those who supported the development of relations between 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.