KMT holds ground as unprecedented recall movement derailed

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Public votes were held Saturday in about one-third of Taiwan's constituencies to decide whether 24 lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) would be removed from office in an unprecedented recall movement seeking to reshape the Legislature.

As it turned out, none of the targeted lawmakers were recalled, dealing a blow to the civic group-led campaigns aimed at breaking down the opposition party caucus elected just 18 months ago, and to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which had thrown its full support behind the efforts in recent months.

While the mass recall campaign is not officially over, with an additional seven KMT lawmakers still facing public votes on Aug. 23, scholars believe the results of Saturday's ballots have blunted the momentum of the movement and affirmed the KMT's position as the biggest party in the Legislature.

Recall movement fails to make headway

Saturday's results marked a clean sweep for the KMT, with votes against recalling its lawmakers outnumbering those in favor in all 24 constituencies.

KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) -- widely seen as the linchpin of the recall efforts -- and the party's old guard, including Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) and Lin Te-fu (林德福), survived by double-digit margins.

Even younger and junior legislators, such as Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) and Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) from Taipei, and Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之) from New Taipei, emerged unscathed despite their polarizing public profiles.

Data from the Central Election Commission showed voter turnouts in most of the votes surpassed 50 percent, nearing 60 percent in several constituencies, a marked departure from past recall votes, which typically saw turnouts below 50 percent.

Turnout key to recall results

Liu Jia-wei (劉嘉薇), a political science professor at National Taipei University, told CNA that the result indicated strong and successful mobilization of both KMT supporters and those backing its legislative ally, the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP).

The outcome demonstrated public dissatisfaction with the DPP's governance, Liu said, including the ruling party's repeated attempts to overturn opposition-endorsed measures.

Soochow University political science professor Su Tzu-chiao (蘇子喬) said the higher turnouts suggest that swing voters participated, and most likely voted against the recalls. These voters, he observed, appeared unconvinced by the recall groups' framing of the campaign as a fight to "oppose Communist China" and "defend Taiwan."

Su added that while this position still enjoyed broad societal support, in local districts where voters prioritize constituency services and legislative performance, such rhetoric was less effective.

This is a "warning sign" to the DPP, he said, adding that the ruling party could not rely on the same narrative in every election.

What comes next?

Following Saturday's votes, Liu said President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) government should show "greater humility" in dealing with the opposition and demonstrate a stronger willingness to consider their views and seek cooperation.

She also predicted more alignment between the KMT and TPP, which together form a majority in the 113-seat Legislature.

Su expressed cautious optimism that the ruling DPP might "soften its stance," potentially opening more space for dialogue with the opposition.

Lai said he would respect the recall results in a social media post on Saturday evening, but did not outline specific plans to engage with the opposition. 

Without specifying what his administration's next steps would be, the president emphasized Taiwan's need to demonstrate to the world its "capability to resolve internal disputes through the constitutional system" and to "come together in unity ... after competition."

At separate press events the same day, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) called on Lai to apologize to the people of Taiwan for what he described as "political infighting," while Fu, the party's legislative caucus whip, urged the president to initiate open dialogue with the opposition.

Pandora's box closed

Both Liu and Su said they did not expect new recall campaigns.

"Pandora's box has been closed because of [Saturday's] outcome," Su said.

The KMT legislative caucus -- made up of 39 directly elected lawmakers and 13 elected through proportional representation -- made a high-profile entrance into the Legislature in January 2024, with Fu pledging to reform the body and more effectively check the DPP government.

While the KMT has traditionally fared well in local government elections, it lost both the presidency and legislative majority to the DPP in two consecutive national elections in 2016 and 2020.

With the TPP's support, the KMT caucus was able to pass a series of bills over the past year, including measures on legislative oversight, later ruled unconstitutional, as well as cuts and freezes to the government's 2025 budget.

The KMT's legislative push encountered strong resistance from the DPP and parts of civil society, with tensions smoldering through legislative scuffles and street protests, spilling into the Constitutional Court and ultimately culminating in a wave of recall campaigns launched earlier this year.