All 24 KMT lawmakers, Hsinchu mayor survive recall votes (update)

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) up for recall Saturday survived their recall votes, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People's Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the Legislature.

The recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers, who were voted into office in January 2024, as well as Hsinchu Mayor Kao Hung-an (高虹安) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission figures.

Only seven of the 25 recall votes secured enough ballots in favor to meet the 25 percent threshold of eligible voters required for the recall to succeed, but those campaigns still failed because more people in those contests voted to oppose rather than back the recall.

Those seven lawmakers were Hualien Legislator and KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁), Taipei Legislators Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) and Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯), New Taipei Legislator Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之), Taichung lawmaker Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) and Hsinchu lawmaker Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐).

In the other 18 recall races, the threshold of pro-recall votes was not met and the number of votes against the recall exceeded those in favor.

It was a major defeat for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and civic groups pushing the recall votes, which had hoped to remove KMT lawmakers whom they argued were pro-China and were obstructing the government's policies.

The DPP would have taken immediate control of the Legislative Yuan had 12 KMT lawmakers been recalled.

KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) called the results a "big victory for Taiwan's people" while TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) urged President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to apologize and the Cabinet led by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) to resign en masse so that a government reshuffle can take place.

DPP Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang (林右昌), meanwhile, said the DPP humbly accepted the results and would reflect on public sentiment.